Somewhere I Have Never Travelled, Gladly Beyond
by Wyntermute
Summary: Naruto had been bragging all day that his new jutsu was his best yet. Sakura and her new situation beg to differ. Post timeskip. DeiSaku.
1. Chapter 1

**Title:** Somewhere I Have Never Travelled, Gladly Beyond  
**Fandom:** Naruto  
**Type:** Multi-chaptered  
**Rating:** Pg-13  
**Pairings:** Deidara/Sakura  
**Word count:** 946  
**Summary:** Naruto had been bragging all day that his new jutsu was his best yet. Sakura and her new situation beg to differ. Post time-skip. DeiSaku.

**A/N: **In all honesty, this should never have been started and will probably never see an ending. You can blame this one on hot wine and 3am. The title is from a poem by E.E. Cummings. (That sounds so delightfully pretentious.)

* * *

Being a fairly cheerful and optimistic young woman, Sakura had decided early on that one of the most interesting things in life was the way that you never knew quite what would happen before the day was out. 

"So I just finished training to make this _totally sweet new jutsu_. You guys'll be blown away by it! Blown away! Ahaha! Oh that's a good one… Just wait'll you see it!"

Tuning out Naruto's incessant bragging, Sakura was about to discover that her philosophy was, for better or worse, absolutely right.

Team 7 was currently camped out along the northern border, checking into recent reports of disturbances in the area. With the constant threat of Akatsuki and Orochimaru, Tsunade had decided on the tried and true method of 'better safe than sorry' and sent out an extremely competent team.

That was how Sakura, Sai, and Kakashi wound up re-rolling their sleeping bags and erasing the traces of their campsite one fine spring morning as Naruto chattered away, half to himself, half to them.

They'd been hearing about his newly developed technique for the past three days, but Naruto wouldn't let them in on exactly what it was.

"Just wait," he assured them as he fastened the final latches on his backpack, "it's my _coolest_ _one yet_!"

And that's when a little clay sparrow dropped from the canopy of trees into the centre of their half packed-up camp.

It exploded.

Any lesser team would have been injured or dead, but Team 7 was, as always, a special case.

While a good deal of their gear was burnt to a crisp, they leapt away to the safety of the surrounding trees, alert and ready in their stances. As the smoke cleared, two figures walked directly into the charred remains of the campsite.

Confident bastards, Sakura thought as she cracked the knuckles in her right hand in anticipation.

The familiar red and black cloaks became clear as the last of the smoke vanished.

Keeping down a wave of fear, Sakura started in on her left knuckles.

"Well what do we have here, yeah? Some Konoha shinobi snooping around? Can't have that, yeah! Plus, I owe you all for the last time. Let's go, Tobi!" The blond Akatsuki smirked and two clay birds appeared in his hands.

The atmosphere around the soon-to-be battle site tensed.

"But Deidara-senpai, they've got a girl on their team."

If the situation had been different, Sakura would have burst out laughing at the look of absolute exasperation on Deidara's face. What had he done to deserve this fate?

"Just. Fight." He managed to grind out between his clenched teeth.

* * *

"I'm sorry Miss, I really don't want to fight you." 

They'd been at this cat-and-mouse game for the past half-hour. The Akatsuki known as Tobi just refused to fight her, instead preferring to weave between the trees as she smashed them up with the ground futilely. He was quicker than he looked.

"Don't underestimate me!" To prove her point, she smashed the ground open beneath him with her fists. He dodged, pleading with her that it wasn't right to hit girls and he didn't want to hurt her so could she please sit this fight out?

Although Sakura secretly found Tobi's old-fashioned code of conduct kind of sweet, she had her duty to do. Just because he wasn't going to fight her, didn't mean that she was going to refrain from fighting him.

Unfortunately, her chakra was depleting fast. The fight might not have been intense, but it was long and Sakura had neither the stamina nor the chakra reserves to keep going much more.

Throwing on another burst of speed, Sakura finally caught up to Tobi, catching one of his arms in her hands and preparing to swing him into the nearest tree.

Nearby, Naruto, Sai, and Kakashi had their hands full with the blond Akatsuki member, although his chakra was severely depleted and he was nearing defeat.

Sakura channeled the last of her chakra to her arms, increasing her strength. Realizing that he was finally caught and that what she was about to do would likely hurt quite a bit, Tobi whispered an apology off to his conscience and drew back his leg.

Naruto saw that they needed just one final, finishing touch to take down their opponent.

Tobi kicked Sakura square in the stomach, sending her flying and winded.

Naruto formed the handseals for his new jutsu.

Sakura's form, still airborne from the kick, arched across the battlefield…

"_SENPUU NO JUTSU!_"

…and collided into Deidara.

Right in the path of Naruto's new technique.

Leaves and branches were ripped from the nearby trees, and when the dust settled, the area formerly occupied by Deidara, and Sakura for a few brief seconds, was revealed to have…

…Absolutely nothing.

"Well… Fuck." The unveiling of Naruto's new jutsu hadn't gone entirely according to plan.

Sai and Kakashi loomed over him.

In the confusion of the following moments, Tobi wisely took the opportunity to flee.

* * *

As Sakura gradually regained consciousness, the first thing her hazy mind registered was that the tree beside her looked a bit funny. She squinted her eyes, trying to stop her vision from blurring. Rather than leaves, it had… Needles? Spines? 

She was glad she hadn't landed in it.

As more details of the past few moments came rushing back to her, she was suddenly aware of something vaguely soft and warm under her. Planting her hands on the ground and gently lifting her chakra-depleted body up, she blinked as she focused on what, or who, rather, had cushioned her fall.

Red clouds on black cloth…

"_NARUTO!_"

Inner Sakura had never screamed so loud.

* * *

**A/N 2:** ...I have no idea where this story is going. Or if it's going anywhere at all. We'll see. Thanks for reading! 


	2. Chapter 2

**Title:** Somewhere I Have Never Travelled, Gladly Beyond  
**Fandom:** Naruto  
**Type:** Multi-chaptered  
**Rating:** Pg-13  
**Pairings:** Deidara/Sakura  
**Word count:** 1,712  
**Summary:** Naruto had been bragging all day that his new jutsu was his best yet. Sakura and her new situation beg to differ. Post time-skip. DeiSaku.

**A/N: **This chapter came about a lot faster than expected. If only I could summon up as much passion and interest for French verbs as I have for this story right now.

* * *

Having recently suffered through the most violent waves of her adolescence, there had been many moments in Sakura's life that ranked high up in her book of 'Well, That Was Awkward'.

As she gazed down, shocked, at the face of the person she'd landed on, Sakura thought that she was likely about to add another chapter to that book. She would entitle it, 'In which Sakura gets hit by her own teammate's technique and subsequently awakens upon the body of their enemy'. At least he hadn't woken up yet. Maybe no one would have to know. Time to make her stealthy escape.

She had barely started to move off of him when a hand grabbed her wrist.

Crap. So maybe this wasn't going to work itself out as easily as she thought. She looked back at him, his blue eye focused on her, scope smashed over the other, and blond hair in disarray. Along with various cuts and bruises courtesy of her teammates, he looked an absolute mess.

"Mind explaining what exactly is going on here, yeah?" The hand that wasn't occupied with crushing her wrist peeled off the broken remains of the scope, revealing his other eye. Considering the oddity of the situation, Sakura drew a small amount of comfort from the fact that, compared to the rest of the Akatsuki, he looked surprisingly normal.

Then something on his hand bit into her wrist.

As Inner Sakura screamed and ran circles in her head, she wrenched herself out of his grasp. In her haste, she tumbled into the spiny tree next to them, but its needles were, in her opinion, a vast improvement over being bit by… By what?

When she noticed a mouth full of teeth vanish back into the palm of his hand, Inner Sakura fainted dead away. The real version of herself hoped dearly that she wasn't failing as badly as she suspected at keeping her shock and fear from showing.

He raised himself up slowly to rest against the tree, his injuries still bleeding. "I asked you a question."

"Did your hand just _bite me_?"

He glared. "You're almost as bad as that idiot Tobi. Now what happened, and where are we?"

Extricating herself from the prickly tree, Sakura glanced at her surroundings before replying. "I'm… not entirely sure. I got caught in Naruto's new jutsu and woke up here. But I don't recognize this place."

Sakura was used to warm temperatures and the tall, green and leafy trees of Konoha and the neighbouring villages. This was something else entirely. A bitterly cold wind made her shiver as the tips of her fingers and nose went numb, and more of those strange spiky trees surrounded her. There were some trees that looked normal enough, but they were bare. Instead, their brightly coloured leaves littered the damp ground and she could see her breath in the air. That's strange, she thought, it's summer in Konoha.

The same realization came to both Sakura and Deidara at the same time, as their eyes widened and met with each other's.

Wherever they were, they were far enough away from home for the seasons to be opposite.

Rather than panicking, Sakura's well-drilled survival instincts kicked in.

Food. Shelter. Get away from the harmful person.

Two sets of eyes fell upon a hole in the rock face a little ways away. They both took off towards it at the same time. As they reached the mouth of the cave, Sakura checked the Akatsuki member into the wall with her shoulder. There was no way she was sharing her shelter with someone so dangerous.

"I saw it first, yeah," Deidara growled, clenching his hands into fists to make explosives.

Despite his injuries, it's likely that Deidara would have won in a fight between them, considering his extra experience and S-class status. Unfortunately for him, the real occupant of the cave decided at that moment to have a say in the matter.

He had the warning of a low growl only seconds before a sharp set of claws tore into him.

They both sprung into action immediately, leaping backwards, out of the cave. The attacker, a bear with its hackles raised, began to follow them out.

Deidara chucked his bombs at the assailant, and Sakura's swift reflexes were the only thing that allowed her to twist out of the explosion's way. Singed, she hit the ground hard, rolling to a stop. Her right arm had taken most of the impact, and was scraped and bleeding freely.

The bear, now more frightened than angry, retreated back into the safety of its cave. Sakura rose and turned towards Deidara, as he clutched the new gash in his side, his other hand holding himself shakily up against the rock face, and hobbled off in another direction.

"That blast almost got me too!"

He didn't bother looking at her. "_That_ would have been a shame, yeah."

Sometimes, Sakura hated sarcasm.

Unsure of what to do and increasingly feeling the cold, she followed him at a careful distance. He felt his way along the rock until coming across a small opening. This time, he threw a bomb in first. It exploded weakly. When nothing came charging out at him, Deidara deemed it safe and went into the cave, leaving a scattering of small bird-shaped explosives around the entrance.

A good few metres away from the mouth of the cavern, Sakura realized belatedly why he'd put them there. "That's incredibly stupid. You're cornered. If I make them go off, you'll get caught in the blast too."

He looked at her, annoyed, and made his way to the very back of the cave. "You think I don't know my own weapons? They'll be enough to blow off your feet, but they don't have enough range to hurt _me_."

Irritated at both herself and him, Sakura gave up trying to talk her way in. She rubbed her arms and stamped her feet, attempting to stave off the cold but failing miserably.

He tried to look relaxed against the cave wall, smirking at her, but Sakura knew that his extensive injuries were making even that difficult for him. "It's kinda cozy in here, yeah."

Maybe he would just bleed to death and then she could clear the bombs and steal the shelter.

"Hope you find your own cave soon. Good luck!"

Shivering and hating him ever so much, Sakura paused trying to keep warm for a minute and applied a tiny bit of chakra to the scrapes on her arm, just enough to stop them from bleeding.

Smirk disappearing, Deidara stared. "You're a medic-nin."

She wasn't sure whether or not he wanted a confirmation on that obvious fact, but she was too cold and wishing horrible thoughts at him to reply anyway.

He sighed, looking vaguely uncertain, as he tugged on some loose strands of his blond hair. "Look, I'll make you a deal, yeah."

"Does the deal involve me getting to come inside that comfy warm cave?"

"Yes --"

She marched towards the entrance.

"-- don't you want to hear the deal first? Also those exploding traps are still there, you know."

She stopped. "What's the deal? Be quick about it."

"In exchange for getting to share my cave, you heal me up nice and good, yeah?"

"Deal. Now let me in." She decided to neglect mentioning that she didn't have nearly enough chakra left to heal him completely.

He got up slowly, wincing from his injuries and using the wall as support, walked over to the entrance and picked up the clay birds. They vanished back into his hands. Sakura tried not to think that she was going to be in an enclosed space with an S-rank criminal who had _mouths in his hands_. Oh gross.

Entering into the cave, she was at once relieved to feel that it offered a good amount protection from the wind. Wearing her clothes meant for Konoha's more tropical weather, she wasn't well-suited for these conditions. The inside of the cave was cold, yes, but no where near as frigid as outside.

"Hey I hope that healing's coming along sometime soon. You'll forgive me for being a little pushy on the subject, yeah." He nodded towards where the bear had hit, the blood escaping through his fingers at he tried to stem the bleeding.

She made her way to the back of the cave and knelt down beside him cautiously. She wasn't entirely convinced of her safety, but Sakura kept her word. Not speaking, she helped him out of his Akatsuki cloak and lifted up the side of his shirt that was sticky with blood. Some of it had already started to dry, and the material clung stubbornly to his skin as she peeled it away

"OW."

She ignored him.

The wound was as bad as it looked. In combination with the beating he'd taken earlier from Team 7, he was in very bad shape. She was surprised he was still conscious. For an instant, Sakura considered doing a superficial patch-up, telling him he was good to go, and then just let him die from internal bleeding. One more Akatsuki down.

But the part of her conscience that no amount of cold-hearted shinobi training could wipe out, the same one that had made her so desperately want to save Sasuke from himself even when she knew in the back of her mind that he was gone, refused. A deal was a deal, and she was a woman of her word.

She set her mouth in a hard line and got to work. He was just another patient like all the others. She pressed two fingers against his side and channeled her chakra into repairing all that had been ripped apart. She knew she didn't have enough left to finish the job right away, but she'd close what was crucial. He wouldn't die.

She worked in silence for a few minutes, until he finally spoke up again.

"So, you got a name, yeah?"

"It's Sakura."

"Hm. I'm Deidara."

Although still concentrating on the task in front of her, this was too good of an opportunity for Sakura to pass up.

"I hope you won't be too offended if I don't want to shake your hand."

"…"


	3. Chapter 3

**Title:** Somewhere I Have Never Travelled, Gladly Beyond  
**Fandom:** Naruto  
**Type:** Multi-chaptered  
**Rating:** Pg-13  
**Pairings:** Deidara/Sakura  
**Word count:** 3,945  
**Summary:** Naruto had been bragging all day that his new jutsu was his best yet. Sakura and her new situation beg to differ. Post time-skip. DeiSaku.

**A/N:** This chapter turned out a lot longer than expected. Happy holidays!

* * *

"Has your chakra come back yet?"

Sakura had lost count of how many times he'd asked her that since she'd first patched him up a few hours ago. After explaining to Deidara that she was out of chakra but that he was no longer in any danger from his wounds, she'd found herself a nice little spot of ground in the cave, keeping as much distance as she could from him in the limited space, and sat hugging her knees, trying to keep warm. At first, he'd complained that she wasn't upholding her end of the bargain very well, but fortunately he stopped after a few minutes of being ignored and opted for lounging in his corner of the cave. Sakura suspected blood-loss and its resulting light-headedness had played a key role in keeping him quiet. And so they'd settled into an awkward silence, broken only by his occasional inquiries about her chakra. The first few times he'd asked her she'd responded, but by now she'd learned that the best policy was to try to ignore him.

"Hey, I asked you a question."

She scrunched her eyes closed in frustration. Maybe ignoring wasn't going to work this time. "_No_, my chakra hasn't come back yet It takes a while, you should know."

"Mine's starting to come back alright, yeah."

Goodie for him. "Feel free to heal yourself."

In truth, a significant amount of her chakra had been replenished, but she was circulating it around her body to fight off the chill. The sun had set outside and the temperature was dropping even further. Plus, there was no way she was leaving herself entirely without chakra while she was hiding out in a cave in the middle of nowhere with an enemy and, she suspected, no allies within quite a few parallels.

"If I don't get this all fixed up, it's going to leave some pretty nasty scars, yeah."

Impressive, she thought sarcastically as she gave him her most unsympathetic expression, he's just been transported to some god-knows-where place and he still manages to think about his precious hide _scarring_. What kind of whackjobs do they let into that Akatsuki group? A humanoid shark, a prodigy responsible for killing his clan, a kid who turned his parents into puppets… It didn't take much more reflection than that for Sakura to realize that she'd probably got one of the better deals. At least she was still alive right now. Aside from the whole mouths in his hands and affinity for blowing things up, he seemed almost normal. _Almost_ being the key word. He could be annoying, yes, but she'd suffered through being on the same team as Naruto.

Her eyes narrowed. _Naruto_. There was someone who'd have to worry about permanent scarring when she got back to Konoha. _When_ she got back. That was something she didn't want to think about. No sense panicking yet, she told herself, you don't even know where you are.

A sudden shiver brought her mind back down from daydreams of beating the stuffing out of her teammate. She curled herself up tighter, rubbed her arms, and concentrated on the flow of chakra through her body.

Stealing a glance over at him, she noticed that Deidara didn't seem to be having any problems with the cold. After she'd finished healing what she could, he'd draped his cloak back around him, and although it was now tattered and stained beyond repair, it was probably better than her shorts and sleeveless top. Sakura suspected Deidara was also using his returning chakra in the same way she was to keep warm.

He noticed her gaze and, misinterpreting, raised an eyebrow at her. "I hope you're not eyeballing my cloak here, yeah. Cause I'm not giving it to you."

"_Why_ would I want your cloak? It's half torn to shreds and you've bled all over it." Ew, gross. She wasn't that desperate for warmth.

Back to awkward silence.

Sakura found it uncomfortable to be in such a small space with someone yet have no interaction. Aside from his irritating questions, they'd hardly spoken at all. But what did you say to an enemy anyway? They couldn't exactly make casual conversation, and she thought it prudent to stay away from anything remotely business-related. She wasn't sure how close the members of Akatsuki were with each other, but she figured it was probably safer to avoid bringing up anything about her killing his former partner. Even if he had been sick, twisted, and totally had it coming. All other ideas for conversation that she had were, in a word, horrible. _'Those mouths in your hands are severely creepy. But you must get that a lot, don't you?' 'Didn't you not have arms the last time I saw you?' _Yeah, she could see _those_ discussions ending well. Why bother pretending to be friendly, she concluded. The moment they found their way out of this situation they'd be back to trying to kill each other. She wouldn't be friendly, but she figured it was a good idea to at least try to cooperate with each other. For now though, she decided it would be best to keep quiet and focus on restocking her chakra.

The wind outside sounded like it was picking up. Night had fallen completely, and in combination with her tiring day, she was exhausted. Her body needed sleep, and not just to speed up the restoration of her chakra. There was no way that was happening though, not in these circumstances. She glanced over at Deidara, who was currently occupied with shaping clay figures, absorbing them back into his hands, and then reshaping them again. He seemed harmless, but Sakura knew better. If she went to sleep, he'd probably see to it that she never woke up again.

Sakura's stomach growled embarrassingly loud. She hadn't had anything to eat aside from breakfast that morning. Now it was too dark to look for food, and she didn't trust leaving her shelter in the hands of an enemy. She had no choice but to endure for now and wait until morning. Mind over matter, she chanted in her head. Mentally drilling herself on healing knowledge and techniques, Sakura tried to keep her mind distracted as her body screamed at her.

As the hours crawled by, it didn't get any easier.

* * *

Although there was still no sign of sunrise, she guessed it was fairly close to being morning. By now, she'd run out of things to quiz herself on and was in no mood to daydream.

So tired. So hungry. Maybe if she just let her eyes rest for a second…

It took a moment for her brain to register that the little things hitting her on the head weren't a part the peculiar dream she was having about sitting down to a formal dinner with the bear that had attacked them earlier.

Dream. _Dream!_

Sakura's eyes flew open. She'd fallen asleep. In the presence of an enemy. She was so dead. She was probably dead right now but just didn't know it yet.

Something small and light bounced off her forehead.

She blinked hard, waking herself up completely, and looked around in alarm. Deidara was now sitting directly across from her, but oddly enough, didn't appear to be posing any immediate threat. Confused, Sakura noticed that the ground around her was strewn with what looked like berries.

Another one hit her on the head.

It took her another moment to realize that he was flicking them at her.

"Aren't ninja supposed to be light sleepers? I've been tossing these at you for five minutes, yeah."

Surely he was exaggerating. Not quite sure what to say and trying to hide her embarrassment, Sakura ran a hand through her short hair, causing a few more berries to tumble out.

"I followed our neighbour and found a bunch of these," he nodded towards a decent sized pile of berries laid out in front of him on what looked like a relatively clean scrap of fabric torn from his cloak.

To her starved body, the little fruits looked _so good._ "Were they nearby? I've got to find some food for myself."

"Or you could just eat these ones, since I brought them back for you _in the first place_."

"… Okay, what's wrong with them?" She wasn't stupid enough to fall for that one.

He was now giving her the same frustrated face she'd seen him give Tobi the other day. "Just eat them. They're not poisoned or anything. If I'd wanted to kill you I would have done it while you were asleep, yeah."

He didn't have to rub it in.

Still, she was unconvinced. As far as she knew, Akatsuki didn't have altruistic sides. "How do you know they're okay for humans to eat?"

"Hmm, I don't know. Maybe because I just ate a ton of them and haven't kicked it yet?"

She looked warily at the berries. The probably very delicious berries looked back at her cheerfully. Her stomach rumbled.

Deidara made a noise of absolute exasperation before taking a few of them and popping them into his mouth. "See? They're fine. And if you don't want them I have no problem eating them all myself, yeah."

They were almost gone before he finished his sentence.

He smirked as she finished off the last of them. "Perfect," he said as he shrugged out of what remained of his cloak, "now that you've had some sleep and something to eat, you can finish healing me."

He sounded so smug, Sakura would have punched him had she not been so absorbed with licking the last of the berry juice off her fingers. She settled for glaring at him instead.

Wiping off her sticky hands on her shorts, she wondered how hygienic healing him like this would be. She didn't think she could use that as an excuse though. No use trying to stall any more, she told herself. She'd have to heal him, but she'd be careful to save some of her chakra in case he turned on her right after.

Shuffling over to sit beside him, she again lifted up the side of his shirt to inspect his injuries. They were worse than she'd expected. That's strange, she thought, he should be healing better than this. The only explanation for this would be…

"How did you manage to reopen your wounds?"

"Maybe you just didn't do a good enough job yesterday, yeah."

She didn't buy it; she knew her medical techniques better than that. "You must've done a lot of movement for this to happen."

"Just shut up and heal me, woman."

Aside from her teammates, it wasn't often that people gave the Hokage's apprentice attitude. Her temper began to flare. "I'm not healing you just so you can go tear yourself up again through whatever reckless--"

"Hey, I let you into the cave, so now you've gotta uphold your end of the deal--"

"_SCREW THE DEAL_!" She hammered a chakra laden fist into the rock wall beside them, causing a small crater, but a crater nonetheless. To his credit, Deidara barely flinched. Barely. "Do you have any idea how many ninja get killed because they don't give themselves time to heal properly? Do you think I have unlimited medical jutsu and give it away for free? Idiots like you are so _careless! _Medic-nin aren't your personal first-aid kits! Don't get me wrong, I don't care _one bit_ what happens to _you_, but I'd like to avoid _wasting_ my chakra when we're in a mess like this _thankyouverymuch_. Now you tell me what exactly was so important that you had to go destroy all my work from yesterday, or you can be damn sure I'm not healing so much as a _papercut_ on you!"

Personally she thought it had been a pretty good lecture.

"Don't overreact. You think I _want_ to stay bleeding all over the place? Must've happened while tracking down that food this morning, yeah." He looked annoyed but didn't meet her eyes. She could tell it was a half-truth.

Sighing and reigning in her temper, Sakura knew it was the most she'd get out of him for now. Channeling chakra to the palm of her hand, she placed it against his injuries as the familiar blue glow of medical jutsu appeared.

"Be more careful from now on, I'm not doing this for you again."

When the last of his injuries faded away under her hands, Sakura sat back, feeling slightly proud of herself, as she always did after healing a patient. "All done. You're as good as new."

Deidara examined his newly healed torso, apparently decided the result was satisfactory, stood up abruptly, picked up his cloak and dusted off his clothes.

"Thanks."

He walked directly out of the cave without another word.

Perplexed, Sakura stood up and followed him. Deidara made his way to a small clearing in the woods, a good distance away from their shelter. In the middle of the glade was a pile of clay. He crouched down next to it, absorbing earth into his hands, transforming it, and then spitting it out onto the pile of clay. Sakura watched for a moment as it began to take shape.

"What are you doing?"

"…Go away."

Curious, Sakura stepped towards the clay figure and reached out to touch it. Deidara swatted her hand away and continued molding more of the ground onto the rapidly developing object. It began to take a clear form, and one that she'd seen before.

"It's that bird you used to fly with, isn't it?"

"You're a genius, clearly."

A small bit of hope sprang up inside her. "That will make finding a village so much easier! There must be one somewhere nearby."

"Maybe. Probably quite a ways away, yeah, cause I didn't run into anything this morning."

That made her pause. "Wait a minute; you went out this morning looking for villages? You must've covered a lot of distance. No wonder your wounds opened up again." Not reacting, he kept working. "Why didn't you just tell me? Unless…" Suddenly, all the pieces connected together in her mind. She wasn't impressed or surprised with the end result. "You went out intending to leave me behind, didn't you? And then the only reason you came back and _didn't kill me_ was because you knew your injuries wouldn't let you go much further."

"Sounds about right." As the bird neared completion, he continued to be completely uninterested in her mounting anger.

"And I'm guessing that once you've finished building this thing you're going to take off without me?"

"That was the plan, yeah."

Yet again, Sakura's temper boiled over.

"Listen you," Sakura hissed, "if you don't take me with you on that goddamned bird, I'll show you exactly what I learned as the Hokage's apprentice."

She cracked her knuckles for good measure, as if somehow that would be the final straw in convincing a member of the most feared and powerful criminal organization around. But what did she have to lose trying? If he took her up on the challenge, she had no doubt she'd put up a good fight but would probably end up dead. Healing him had consumed a fair portion of her chakra. If he laughed in her face and made a quick getaway without her, even her own fairly optimistic disposition was willing to give her about a week of living on her own in this strange forest. Survival skills were essential for any ninja, but Sakura had never received any training for an environment like this. She needed to get on that bird with him, one way or another.

"_You_, the Hokage's apprentice?" he scoffed, unconvinced, while shaping more earth in his hands, "They dropped their standards lately, yeah?"

The bird was almost finished. It looked like fighting him was going to be inevitable. Sakura began to mold chakra into her hands. Things were not looking up.

Things were especially not looking up when a kunai came flying towards her, missing only due to her well-trained reflexes.

Sakura sprang back, landing in a fighting stance. Something wasn't right. That kunai had come from another direction, and she hadn't seen Deidara make any sort of clones. A few metres away, she could see that he had taken up a stance too, alert and looking into the trees around them.

So if he didn't throw it…

Four ninja stepped out from behind nearby trees. She didn't recognize their hitai-ate. Border patrol, she guessed. It just wasn't shaping up to be her lucky day. One of them, the leader, she assumed, advanced a few paces and drew the sword strapped across his back.

The man started to speak gibberish.

Sakura and Deidara cast a quick look at each other, faces equally blank. No language they recognized.

The man repeated what Sakura assumed to be a question. His voice was harsher this time and she had no doubt that he wanted an answer fast.

Might as well give it a try. Sakura relaxed her stance into what she hoped was a less threatening position and attempted to answer him. "We don't mean any harm --"

Her brief efforts at diplomacy were cut short as another kunai whistled past her head.

"Apparently language barriers are a bit of a problem," Deidara observed beside her, dryly, before beginning the fight with a series of explosions aimed at the man who'd spoken to them. The next few seconds became a blur to Sakura as her adrenaline kicked in and two of the enemies rushed towards her.

Two against four weren't good odds, Sakura thought as she alternated between defending herself and breaking the ground under her opponents' feet. Especially not when she was still missing chakra from the healing she'd done earlier. These guys couldn't be taken lightly either; she'd be surprised if they were anything less than jounin.

Noticing just in time that a sword thrown by one of the enemy ninja was hurtling towards the clay figure, Sakura sent off a handful of small shuriken at it, knocking the weapon off course. It wouldn't do to have her only ticket out of here destroyed.

Twisting back around to dodge a flurry of blows from one of her opponents, she called over to Deidara, "Hurry up and finish the bird! I'll hold these guys off!"

He didn't need to be told twice. Firing off one last volley of explosives that left various bits of one of the ninja plastered across a good deal of the landscape, he jumped back over to his creation.

Sakura took up a defensive stance and tried to keep as close to him and the bird as possible, but as more of her energy wore away and the three opponents facing her showed no sign of letting up, the battle became increasingly difficult.

Suddenly, a gust of wind from behind made her turn quickly to look.

The clay bird, with Deidara atop, flapped its wings again, gaining altitude.

That _bastard._

Diving past her enemies, Sakura boosted as much chakra into her legs as she could, jumped towards the tallest tree she could see and pushed off of it. In the haste of her actions, she miscalculated her jump slightly, but still managed to grab onto one of the taloned feet of the bird. Getting a good hold on its leg, Sakura glanced down to make sure they'd left the enemies well behind. The ground was already far away, and she looked back up quickly to dispel the beginnings of vertigo.

Her exhausted muscles strained as she hauled herself up onto the back of the clay bird. Panting, she collapsed to her knees before glaring daggers at Deidara, who was sitting near the bird's head and looking almost bored.

"You were just going to leave me in the middle of that!"

He didn't need to answer, his face had _'obviously'_ written all over it.

"You bastard! I can't believe you'd do that after I healed you! After I bought you the time to finish this thing!"

"Look, you're on the bird like you wanted. Shut up and let's look for a village." He turned his back to her, scanning in front of them for any signs of a settlement.

But Sakura's patience with him had worn too thin.

"_After all that's happened do you still not realize we're in this mess together?_ Yes we're enemies but there's no way either of us are going to get out of all this alone! We don't have a clue where we are! And you're so selfish, you aren't being any help!"

He turned back around suddenly and exploded at her, "_Who's_ the one not being any help here, yeah? Did you even manage to kill a single one of those ninja? Did _you_ build this thing to escape? You can't do anything other than fix up cuts and bruises! And then you find your way up here and _can't keep your mouth shut for one minute!_ I should just push you off!"

Reacting immediately, she grabbed his wrist, making sure that the palm of his hand faced away from her. She gripped it hard enough to hurt. "If you do that, you'd be coming down with me," she growled.

She'd had enough of him. "What would you have done before if I hadn't been there to heal you? You would have _died_." He scowled at her. "Don't give me that face, you know it's true! And as for me…" She swallowed down her pride momentarily. It was difficult, but necessary. "As for me, I'm strong enough to get by on my own but I'm still mainly a _medic_. Don't you get it? I don't want to work with a lunatic criminal like you but if we stick together we've got a much better chance of finding our way back _alive_!"

He wrenched his hand out of her grasp. "Medic or not, now that I'm healed why would I want to drag around an enemy? I need to get back right away, yeah, and you're only going to slow me down. The last thing I need is to get stuck with someone weak like you. You couldn't even fight _Tobi_ properly!"

That was the last straw. "Weak? _Weak?_ I healed your would-have-been fatal injuries! And held off that pack of ninja! How can you call me _weak_ when I've been nothing like that! For your information, I killed that sick puppet freak partner of yours and --" Sakura clapped a hand over her mouth. _Curses. _She hadn't meant to say that. This might be trouble.

His voice was dangerously soft. "I realized that, yeah."

She almost didn't catch the way his eyes narrowed slightly and his mouth thinned.

Almost.

Figuring it was probably an _extremely bad_ _idea_ to start on this topic while flying high above the ground and exhausted from battle, Sakura searched desperately for a diversion. Her eyes landed on the perfect thing, and she hardly believed what she saw.

"Town! A town! Look!" She pointed wildly in its direction.

The tension between them broke as Deidara whipped around to see. It was still fairly far away, but the unmistakable form of a village was visible in the trees. He smirked and angled the bird towards it.

Inner Sakura danced with joy. She wouldn't have to team up with an arrogant, self-centered criminal after all! She'd figure out where she was and go home! This whole nightmare would be over! Smiling at the thought and clenching her fists, Sakura could feel Naruto's sorry neck in her hands already.


	4. Chapter 4

**Title:** Somewhere I Have Never Travelled, Gladly Beyond  
**Fandom:** Naruto  
**Type:** Multi-chaptered  
**Rating:** Pg-13  
**Pairings:** Deidara/Sakura  
**Word count:** 3,407  
**Summary:** Naruto had been bragging all day that his new jutsu was his best yet. Sakura and her new situation beg to differ. Post time-skip. DeiSaku.

**A/N:** Thanks to everyone who has reviewed so far! It's always nice to know this story is being read / enjoyed. Another long chapter, but I had fun writing it. _Hopefully_ there won't be another chapter for the next week or two though, because that will mean that I have actually started studying for exams.

* * *

"This place is a _dump_, yeah."

Privately, Sakura agreed with Deidara's analysis.

They had landed a little ways outside the town to avoid being seen and then walked a few minutes to reach it. To their disappointment, the 'town' ended up being more of a 'dilapidated village overrun with dirty farm animals', and the 'houses' Sakura had spotted earlier turned out to be more along the lines of 'the most miserable hovels she'd ever laid eyes on'. The wretched atmosphere of the village was only increased by the fact that the sky was clouded over and it had begun to rain. A few women of undeterminable ages peered at the newcomers from under their grime-covered hoods before returning back to pulling weeds from their gardens. As the two ninja took in their surroundings, a mud-caked goat approached them and began chewing on a corner of Deidara's cloak.

The place really _was_ a dump.

Deidara ripped his tattered cloak away from the creature and gave it a glare worthy of any enemy, to which the animal seemed generally unconcerned as it munched on the black material it had managed to snag. Sakura's eyes scanned the buildings around them. With a feeling of relief, she recognized the symbol on a sign swinging from one of the decrepit structures. A picture of a bed with a roof over it.

"An _inn!_" she cried joyously and made her way towards it. Deidara followed along after her.

Who cares if the beds are probably full of lice and fleas, she thought as she pushed open the inn's door. Maybe if she was really lucky they'd serve something _edible_ here too!

The innkeeper was asleep behind the desk, so Sakura rapped her knuckles sharply on the wood to wake him up. He gave a slight start and blinked at them sleepily as Sakura fished in one of her pouches for whatever money she had brought along. Finding a few coins, she tossed them on the desk, smiling expectantly. The innkeeper prodded the coins with a finger and looked confused.

Sakura's smile began to falter. "Um, a room please?"

The man continued to appear puzzled, so Sakura helped him along by pointing at the ring of keys he had around his wrist. As he began to catch her drift, he also started to look a little angry. He pushed the coins back towards her and garbled out some words that Sakura didn't understand. Not quite sure what to do, she tried pushing them back towards him. Did he not want her money? This time, the man picked up one of the coins, bit it, and then continued spouting angry nonsense words.

_Oh_.

"Apparently our currency isn't accepted here, yeah." Deidara observed unhelpfully, as they stepped back outside.

During the short time they had been in the inn, the light rain from earlier had taken a more torrential turn. Standing in the middle of the muddy road and quickly being soaked to the bone, Sakura was completely discouraged. This wasn't how things were supposed to go. Right now she was supposed to be taking a hot bath, eating some real food, sleeping in a warm bed, and then _going home_. Not standing outside some sorry excuses for peasant cottages while her wet hair stuck to her face and her sandals sank unpleasantly into the mud. The full extent of her exhaustion began to kick in, and she almost felt like crying.

Belately, Sakura realized that Deidara was walking away. At a loss for what else to do, she followed him. The ground under their feet made squelching noises. Locating a small shed, he kicked the door open, causing panicked bleating from the sheep inside.

"This'll have to do for now, yeah."

Sakura stepped in after him, just as the first peals of thunder were heard. The inside of the shack was every bit as bad as the exterior. Wind whistled through the gaps in the walls and puddles formed where water fell from the roof. Straw was scattered around and a group of sheep huddled nervously in one corner. The ground was covered in plenty of substances that Sakura didn't want to think about it. The whole place smelt strongly of sheep.

Had this been a few years ago, times like this would have succeeded in making Sakura cry. Not anymore though. She was a fully-grown, capable woman. She'd get through all this and go home.

And then she slipped on some unidentifiable mess on the floor and landed flat on her ass in the muck.

As the events of the past two days crashed into her and she felt an embarrassed blush creep onto her face, Sakura could do nothing but laugh. She was sure it bordered on hysteria, but that was alright; at least she wasn't crying. She was dirtier than she'd ever been in her entire life, and this whole situation of being stuck in the middle of no-where and how it had occurred was positively _ridiculous_.

Then Deidara started to laugh too.

Not just a smirk accompanied by a snicker, but a real, actual, smile-on-his-face laugh.

Her laughter stopped immediately and she forgot entirely about her embarrassment. Sakura was floored. Akatsuki weren't allowed to laugh. Not like that. They were the Bad Guys; the ones parents would tell their children about when the world was still black and white, good and evil. They could let out a small 'heh' when you walked into their traps, or cackle maniacally as they thought of their cunning plans for world domination. But this… Laughing like this was for friends and family and _normal people_. Akatsuki weren't allowed to have _human_ sides. The sight of Deidara standing there, every bit of a mess as she was and clutching his sides from laughter, was contrary to _everything_. It made her angry.

Getting to her feet, she spat out at him ferociously, "_SHUT UP!_ What do you think you're doing laughing at me like that?!" She was starving, exhausted and unreasonably furious. Her breath was coming in short pants.

All signs of amusement disappeared from his face. With all that had happened, it was no surprise that his temper was just as short as hers. "What the hell? Weren't you just pissing yourself laughing like five seconds ago? Why do you always have to be such a bi--"

A clap of thunder from the storm that raged outside drowned the rest of what he had to say. There, she thought irrationally, this is how he's supposed to be. Still angry, Sakura clenched her fists, turned away from him as his ranting died out, and found a pile of hay not entirely soaked through with mud and not already claimed by any of the other residents of the shack. Curling up as small as she could on it, she shivered as she tried to drown out her thoughts and the noise from the storm. She was cold, confused, miserable, and the roof was leaking on her, but she was also very tired. Sleep found her fast enough.

* * *

"_BLARGH!_"

That certainly woke her up quickly. Regaining consciousness, her heart beat faster as she didn't recognize her surroundings. Planting one hand on the ground to lift herself up, she felt a not entirely pleasant texture beneath her fingers.

Memories of last night came flooding back. _Right._ So it hadn't all just been some horrible dream after all.

On the other side of the shack, Deidara was busy batting away a sheep that bleated pathetically before retreating back over to its comrades. Deidara had removed his cloak and laid it out on the ground for the night. Sakura took an absurd amount of pleasure seeing that even under it, he was absolutely filthy. At least she wasn't the only one.

"What the hell?! That thing just tried to _eat my hair!_"

Sakura giggled half-heartedly. There was dried mud between her toes and her stomach felt like it was trying to take bites out of her internal organs, but her half-crazed state from the night before had disappeared now that she'd got some rest. She couldn't really bring herself to hate him this morning for acting like an ordinary person.

Noticing that she'd awoken, Deidara looked over and gave her a sneer. Looks like he hasn't forgotten what I said last night, Sakura thought with a frown as she sat up properly. Might as well try to patch things up a bit, since it seemed she was going to have to travel with him for a little while longer at least.

"Good morning." Her voice was scratchy from sleep and she found it a little worrying that she couldn't remember the last time she'd had anything to drink. Across the floor, Deidara ignored her in favour of retying his ponytail. The elastic tie snagged halfway down in the layers of mud, blond hair, and blood, causing him to growl softly as he worked out the knots. Sakura couldn't think of exactly what to say, so she plowed ahead, hoping the words would come out right on their own. "Err… About last night, what I said… I was really tired and with all that had happened…"

Still working out the stubborn tie, he interrupted her awkward explanation. "Don't waste your time, yeah. I don't care about what you said, but if you ever speak to me like that again you'll find yourself in a lot more pieces than usual."

She bit back a retort about his overconfidence, knowing that it probably wouldn't help her cause. The familiar feeling of uncomfortable silence that she'd experienced earlier in the cave settled back over them. After watching him struggle in vain for another few minutes, she spoke up again, "Do you… need some help with that?"

"_No._" He looked at her like she'd sprouted extra legs. Giving an extra hard pull, the tie finally came loose, tearing out strands of blond hair with it.

Inner Sakura smacked her palm against her forehead. Asking a notorious killer if he needed help with his hair? _Pure genius._ Could things _get_ any more embarrassing this morning?

Her stomach chose that moment to rumble loudly.

With his usual ponytail back in place, Deidara glanced at her, amused. "Hungry much?"

Feeling the heat rise to her face, she got to her feet, made her way to the door and mumbled, "Let's go see what we can find…"

Outside, the sun had just risen, illuminating the village in orange and casting long shadows. Feet sinking into the wet ground with every step, Sakura examined the area, quickly locating a well. Pulling up a bucket of water, she turned to show Deidara her findings. Blinking, she noticed he wasn't there. Strange, she could've sworn he'd been right behind her. His loss, she decided as she gulped down the contents of the bucket.

Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed Deidara wandering towards her, still without his cloak, and looking abnormally pleased with himself. Balancing the water bucket on the edge of well, Sakura's eyes narrowed. She didn't trust pleased Akatsuki.

"Catch."

Half a loaf of stale bread landed in one of her hands.

"Where did you get this?" she asked suspiciously.

"Does it matter, yeah?" he replied between bites.

"I don't like the idea of stealing from helplessly poor villagers." Her moral lesson might have been slightly more effective had she not been busy cramming the bread into her mouth, a fact which was not lost to Deidara, judging by the smirk on his face.

As they both finished their small and unsatisfying meal, Sakura lifted herself up to sit on the stone edge of the well. She sighed and asked, "What are we going to do now? I was so sure that once we got to a village everything would just work itself out…"

"Well _I'm_ going to build myself another bird and find someplace that actually qualifies as a 'town', yeah. Don't know about you."

Oh not _this_ again.

Opening her mouth to begin the inevitable argument, the sound of raised voices from nearby stopped her. Hopping off the side of the well, Sakura raised her eyebrows at Deidara. He nodded, already on guard. They'd go check it out.

They didn't have to go far. Peering around the side of a hut that was just across from the shed they'd passed the night in, they watched as a group of rough-looking soldiers warbled angrily in their strange language at a gathering of dirt-covered villagers. The discussion didn't seem to be going in the villagers' favour, as they handed over a small bag to the lead soldier, who emptied the contents into his hand, revealing coins. Apparently not satisfied, the soldier barked at them again and the villagers began murmuring amongst themselves. Sakura winced in sympathy as one particularly loud young man took a strike to the knees by a soldier's blunt staff. Feudalism at its best, her mind remarked dryly. As unfortunate as the situation was, Sakura knew that she couldn't interfere. It would do the townspeople no good in the long run, and she had no right or responsibility to stand up for them.

Her opinion stayed at this until the soldiers began to leave. In addition to the feudal dues that had been paid, the captain reached out and grabbed one of the less grubby villagers by the hair, clearly identifiable as a female, and dragged the shrieking woman along with them. Sakura saw red. Growling low in her throat, she began to move and prepared to give the soldiers the thrashing of the lives. If there was one thing she couldn't stand --

Before she could take more than a step, a strong arm wrapped around her waist, pulling her back, and a hand closed over her mouth.

"What are you doing?! Don't get involved in their business, yeah." Deidara's hushed voice whispered into her ear.

Reaching up and prying his hand from her face -- don't think about the _mouths in his hands_ Inner Sakura screamed -- she snarled out, "There's no way I'm letting them _do that_."

She tried to pull away from him but he held onto her tightly. This wasn't getting her anywhere; she needed a way to convince him. Pausing in her struggles, she made up an excuse, "They might also have food or maps or _something that might help us_."

He knew she was just trying to give any kind of pretext to go rescue the unfortunate woman, but also realized that there was some truth in what she said. He thought over their options for a moment before replying.

"Fine, but wait a minute --" Deidara released her and headed back towards the shack where they'd slept.

"_What_?" she hissed, getting up to follow him, but still enraged, "We don't have time to waste! They're dragging that poor woman off to who knows where --"

He swung the door open. "This'll only take a second, I can't leave behind my cloak --"

Inside, a sheep was lying on the last remaining scraps of it.

"I think it's a lost cause," Sakura deadpanned, miraculously keeping her face straight. "Now _let's go_."

* * *

Hiding in the trees, they tracked the soldiers until they reached the edge of a river. Deidara gave her a signal and they both swung into action.

Leaping into the group of soldiers before they could realize what was going on, Sakura broke the captain's arm with a single strike, grabbed the frightened villager, picked her up and took off towards the woods. Huddling down behind the cover of a tree, she held the woman to her firmly and felt the ground shake from the explosions going on behind them.

It didn't take long before the blasts died away. Deidara was good at what he did, after all, Sakura admitted grudgingly. Uncurling from her defensive position, she helped the other woman to her feet. Immediately wrenching herself from Sakura's hold, the terrified villager took one look at her before she ran shrieking off into the forest.

Sakura couldn't help but feel a little dismayed by her reaction. "Not even a 'thank you'? And honestly, I'm not _that_ scary."

Deidara sauntered up beside her, looking quite content and carrying a soldier's pack that had only a minimal amount of blood stains. "Have you _seen yourself, _yeah? Also, you smell."

She gaped at him. He'd just blown an entire platoon into small red chunks across the countryside and he could still say things like that? Then again, she supposed he had a point. Neither of them had bathed for the past few days and they were covered in pretty much every substance imaginable. But really, he made it sound like it was _just_ her.

"So do you," she shot back at him, at a loss for something cleverer to say.

"Resorting to childishness, yeah?" He had a massive grin on his face, and Sakura found it slightly disturbing that he was in such a good mood after massacring people.

She surveyed the ground around them as they walked towards a cleaner area, not bothering to conceal her disgust. "Can't you do this sort of thing with a little bit less mess?"

"It's fine the way it is. This is the consequences of beautiful art."

"_Art?_" Just when she'd been starting to think that morning that she _might_ be able to forget he was Akatsuki, he went and said something certifiably insane. "You just blew a bunch of people up! There's nothing artistic about that!"

They reached an area of grass that had escaped the earlier events. Sitting down, Deidara started to look through the pack he'd acquired. "You wouldn't know artistic taste if it came up and kicked you in the spleen, yeah."

"I've got as much 'artistic taste' as anyone!"

"You wear_ red_."

"What's wrong with red? It's my family's colour!"

"_You have pink hair._" Sakura looked baffled so he took the liberty of explaining it to her. "It clashes."

This made her pause. Okay, so maybe he had a point. Shaking the thoughts out of her head, she said, "_Why_ am I discussing _fashion tastes_ with _you_, of all people? We've got to figure out what we're going to do next. We need money, and we need to find out where we are."

Deidara stopped rifling through the soldier's pack and examined a parchment he'd found. "I've got an idea for the money part, yeah."

"_This_ bodes well," she remarked sarcastically, but moved to glance over his shoulder anyway.

He'd found a map of the local area. Aside from what she guessed was the village they were in, there was nothing on it that Sakura recognized. He pointed towards the drawing of a large town with some form of castle in the middle of it.

"If this is the guy collecting the taxes around here, I'll bet you he's got a nice amount of money, yeah."

Sakura saw where this was going and she wasn't sure she liked it. On the Map of Bad Ideas, this would probably have been in the territory marked by 'Here be Dragons' and 'Beyond lies Peril'. Breaking into a castle that was probably filled with both soldiers and ninja was definitely crazy.

Then she remembered exactly what had happened at the village earlier. If that was how 'tax collection' usually went, she wouldn't have any scruples about stealing from the local feudal lord. Besides, if he was just hoarding all the money up for himself, wouldn't it be better for her to redistribute it into the local economies? It might be risky, but they were both elite ninja, and after this, it was likely they'd never have to steal again. They'd just sneak in, grab what they needed, and leave. No one would have to know.

Hardly believing that she was justifying this to herself, Sakura nodded slowly, "I think this is something we can agree on, for once." Glancing over at the river, she added, "But first, I'm going to wash off all this dirt and blood. You go… over there or something," she gestured towards an outcropping of rocks that made a convenient barrier in the water, "Just, away. And don't you dare so much as look in my direction."

"Who'd want to peek at your scrawny ass, yeah?" he informed her before walking away, but not before getting a muddy sandal tossed at him.


	5. Chapter 5

**Title:** Somewhere I Have Never Travelled, Gladly Beyond  
**Fandom:** Naruto  
**Type:** Multi-chaptered  
**Rating:** Pg-13  
**Pairings:** Deidara/Sakura  
**Word count:** 3,009  
**Summary:** Naruto had been bragging all day that his new jutsu was his best yet. Sakura and her new situation beg to differ. Post time-skip. DeiSaku.

**A/N:** Sorry for the delay. There were many exams followed by much travelling. This chapter was originally going to include the break-in too, but then it somehow ran away with itself and ended up way too long. Unfortunately not entirely pleased with this chapter, but I can't quite put my finger on why. Er, it's a transition chapter? Either way… I swear the romance is coming at some point. Just not yet. Thank you to all reviewers so far! The next chapter is mostly sketched out and shouldn't take as long as this one to complete.

* * *

"This is more like it!" Sakura exclaimed as they came within view of the town indicated on the map.

After washing the grime off themselves as best they could in the frigid river, Sakura and Deidara had scarfed down some rations from the soldier's pack, donned the extra clothes they'd found in it as well, and then headed off in the direction of the town. They'd decided against creating another flying clay bird in order to keep a low profile; the authorities were bound to be on high alert once they found the remnants of the unfortunate squad that Deidara had taken care of. After walking until late in the afternoon, Sakura's feet had started to hurt and she had become increasingly irritated at her infuriating travel partner. Now, however, one look at the outskirts of the town swept all those feelings away.

Certainly much larger, cleaner, and overall cheerful-looking than the previous village, the town sprawled across all the visible landscape. In the middle, a castle set on a hill rose impressively above its surroundings. Even as the sun began to set, the shops and streets were still full of people. The buildings, made from bricks or stone blocks, were different from the cheap metal siding and hastily constructed houses Sakura was used to, but nonetheless, the ambiance of the town reminded her somehow of Konoha. She pushed those thoughts away quickly, swallowing down the feelings of homesickness.

Taking a deep breath, Sakura considered their next options. Her aching feet helped her settle on one fast enough. "Let's see if that soldier's money can buy us a place at an inn."

Looking just as weary as Sakura felt, Deidara simply nodded in agreement. Thank goodness for small miracles; she was not in the mood to put up with anything from him.

Apparently the soldier that they'd snagged the pack from hadn't been getting much in terms of pay. They were turned away from first few inns with crossed arms and 'what are you trying to pull' glares before ending up in a decidedly more sketchy area of town. This time, the man at the desk exchanged their coins for a key. Sakura's attempts to indicate that she wanted two rooms were met with confusion and what she assumed to be demands for more money.

Finally giving up her efforts, Sakura waved the innkeeper away and turned back towards Deidara. "I guess we'll have to make do with sharing a room. But I call shower first!"

Walking along the hallway to their room, a skitter of movement near the baseboards of the wall caught her attention. Sakura glanced down, but quickly redirected her eyes towards the room numbers peeling from the doors. Some things were better off not knowing, she concluded. Even with cockroaches or rats, as long as the room had a shower and a bed it was fine by her.

The state of the inn hadn't escaped Deidara's notice either. "You know, I haven't paid for anything in a long, long time, yeah, and I didn't ever imagine I'd be _paying_ to stay in a hole like this."

Rolling her eyes at him, she reached room number eleven and slid the key into the lock. "Akatsuki don't pay for anything? Why am I _completely_ unsurprised by that? Stop complaining, it's wasn't your money to begin with, and it's better here than --"

As the door swung open and she flipped on the light switch, the sight of their room cut short Sakura's commentary. For an inn that was probably populated by more rodents than people, it wasn't bad. Not completely filthy, and bigger than a broom closet, at least. There was however, one glaringly obvious problem.

"Why is there only one bed?"

Unconcerned, Deidara walked past her, dropped the backpack on the bed, and started rummaging through it. "Why do you think, yeah? Two young people show up with no money and looking like they've been traveling for days? They probably get country kids eloping here like that all the time, yeah."

'_Eloping'_ echoed through her mind. No, it couldn't be bad enough that she'd have to share a room with a notorious criminal, there just had to be only one bed too. And on top of that, to have people think they were… _Ack!_

As her inner self was in the process of short-circuiting, Sakura tried to keep outwardly calm. "I guess I'll go ask the innkeeper for a different room."

Pulling out the map, he didn't bother looking at her. "Good luck hand-signing that one."

Sense of defeat sinking in and anger rising, she crossed her arms. "Well I'm not sleeping on the floor."

"Neither am I, yeah."

"So you'd better keep your hands to yourself."

Looking over at her incredulously, he snorted, "It's not like I'm _desperate_ or anything, yeah."

Placing her hands on her hips, Sakura gave him the most unconvinced expression she could muster. "Oh right, cause I'm sure the whole having mouths in your hands deal is a _huge_ hit with the ladies."

Saying nothing, Deidara sat on the edge of the bed, his back turned towards her, and suddenly became engrossed in studying the map of the region.

_Oops_. Apparently that was a sensitive subject. Sakura made a mental note not to bring it up again. Although, on second thought… She re-filed it away for use the next time he was really pissing her off.

In the meantime though, perhaps changing the subject _would_ be prudent. Settling beside him on the bed she peered at the map. "So… you got any ideas about how we're going to rob that castle?"

"How should I know, yeah? We just got here." Still a bit upset, apparently. He tossed the map onto the bed and stalked over to the other side of the room. "I'm taking a shower."

Leaping to her feet, she rushed after him. "What?! No way! I called it first, remember!"

The bathroom door closed quite firmly in her face.

"Haven't you ever heard of ladies first?" she yelled as she hammered her fist against the wooden door. She could bust it open easily enough, but that would result in an angry innkeeper, not to mention there'd be no door when she took her shower. Slightly counterproductive.

"Haven't you ever heard that chivalry is dead, yeah?" His muffled voice responded to her before the spray of the shower started.

Heaving one last sigh of frustration and giving the door a final kick, Sakura stumbled over to the bed and collapsed onto it. The pillows were lumpy and the bedspread smelled like it needed a good session out in some fresh air, but sinking into the mattress after days of lying on hard ground felt _so good. _Tugging open the nightstand drawer out of boredom and curiosity, Sakura found a dark blue book with the image of a white cross on the front. Cheek smushed lazily against the pillow, she flipped to a random page and tried to make out some of the words. The alphabet appeared to be the same as the one she was used to, but at first glance none of the words made any sense. Too tired to inspect it further, she dropped it back into the drawer before flopping onto her back to gaze at the yellowing ceiling. With the tension easing from her shoulders and the sound of the shower in the background, she let her eyes drift closed.

Her half-sleep was interrupted a few minutes later by Deidara emerging from the bathroom, shirt in one hand and toweling his hair dry with the other. As she cracked her eyes open slightly in a glare, he sneered at her. "Your turn, although I think the hot water's gone, yeah."

It just wasn't evil enough for him to steal the shower first, was it? Mumbling incoherent curses at him, she pushed herself up off the bed and staggered into the bathroom, closing the door behind her.

Moving towards the shower, something in the corner of her eye caught her attention. From the first mirror she'd seen in days, her reflection looked back at her.

_Aie_. No wonder they'd been turned away from all the nice inns.

The dark circles under her eyes stood out from her skin which was much more pallid than she thought was healthy from days with little food. A smudge of dirt streaked unflatteringly across her forehead. In the mess of tangles and odd flips that her hair consisted of, an orange leaf poked out. Of course Deidara had neglected to mention any of this to her, but she wasn't sure whether she should be thankful or angry about that.

Shrugging out of the overly large military shirt and pants, she inspected the rest of the damage. The rest of her body confirmed the need to eat something with more substance than berries or bread, and there was a decent-sized purple bruise across her abdomen where she'd been kicked by Tobi days earlier. Along with the assortment of other cuts and bruises she'd acquired, 'attractive' was the last word she could apply to herself. Her only consolation was that her traveling companion resembled a poster-child for abuse and malnutrition too.

Self-esteem at a pitiful low, at least she was pretty sure she'd be safe from any unwanted attention that night.

Cranking up the shower to a temperature just under scalding, she stepped in and got to work with the cheap inn soap on the dirt that was stubbornly clinging to her body. With the water alternating between hot and cold, she didn't take her time. Stepping out of the shower and trying not to look at her depressing reflection in the mirror, Sakura dried herself off and stepped back into the soldier's clothes. There'd be no comfy pajamas tonight.

Emerging from the bathroom, her hand felt along the wall before finding the light switch and turning it on. Already in bed, Deidara mumbled curses at her.

"Some people are trying to sleep here, yeah," he groaned and turned his face further into the pillow.

Sakura scowled at him. He was on the left side of the bed. That was _her_ favourite side. What a jerk.

Grudgingly, she turned off the lights and slid under the covers on the other side. Facing away from him, she made sure to keep entirely on her half of the bed. He'd better do the same, she thought irritably, or he'd need to have his arms reattached again. As she imagined the many ways of making that threat a reality, she began to drift off to sleep.

"Just so you know, if you snore you're getting smothered in your sleep, yeah."

Under the covers, she kicked him.

* * *

To Deidara's credit, Sakura awoke completely unharmed. Somewhere in the back of her mind she was almost disappointed; it was definitely time for him to start doing evil, Akatsuki-like things again, and she'd been _so_ looking forward to getting the opportunity to take out all her anger and frustration on him. Instead, he was still asleep, one arm dangling off the edge of the bed and blond hair in complete disarray. Overall, he definitely didn't look very threatening. If at that moment Sakura hadn't known he was Akatsuki, she never would have guessed.

Not wanting to brave the cold of the room before she absolutely had to, Sakura curled back up under the blanket and tried to fall asleep again. Bored and hungry, she gave up quickly and pushed back the covers. Wincing as her bare feet met the cold floor, she wandered over to the window and drew the curtains back just enough to look outside. Blinking in disbelief, she opened them fully to get a better view.

As the light poured into the room, Deidara threw his pillow at her. "You'd better have a _really_ good reason for waking me up this early, yeah."

"It's _snowing_," she said softly, more to herself than in response to him.

Eyes wide and unable to turn away from the sight, Sakura felt him move behind her to look out the window too. "That hardly counts as snow," he scoffed.

Sakura clenched her fists. He always had to go and _ruin everything_. Konoha rarely got even a dusting of snow, so the frosted ground and tiny flakes falling in the air were still a novelty to her. She turned to him, irritated. "What's your problem? Can't you just enjoy it?"

He tapped his hitai-ate, looking unimpressed. "I'm from one of the northern countries, yeah. Snow's not all that great when you've got four months of it."

The admission that he was _from somewhere_ stopped her short. She _knew_ that the Akatsuki were all from one hidden village or another, but for some reason she had a hard time picturing any of them coming from anywhere other than the depths of hell. Itachi was a special case, but the rest of them… Unconsciously biting her lip, she worked that thought for a moment.

Unaware of Sakura's internal struggles, Deidara stretched, sat down on the bed, and tried without much luck to untangle his hair. "So what're you getting us for breakfast today?"

Train of thought interrupted, she snapped at him, "Why's it up to me to get us breakfast?"

"I got it yesterday, yeah. Now it's your turn."

Fair enough. "But we've run out of money."

Deidara gave her that annoyed look she knew so well by now. "Are you _actually_ a ninja? Go steal us something, yeah."

The idea of stealing food from honest vendors didn't appeal to her much, but the thought of slowly starving to death wasn't so pleasant either. Mind made up, she slipped on her sandals, pulled on the backpack, and headed out the door. "I'll be back in a bit. Don't do anything too stupid while I'm gone."

Shutting the door before he could respond, she made her way out of the inn and into the busy street. Crunching the frost under her feet, she explored the surrounding area. Luckily enough, there was a street market not too far away. Pretending to be an early morning customer like everyone else, Sakura examined the food up for sale. She didn't recognize a good deal of the fruits and vegetables piled in crates and on tables, but they nonetheless made her mouth water and stomach rumble.

Blending into the crowd as well as she could, she waited until an opportunity presented itself. Passing by a stand full of something she recognized – apples – she slid two of them into the pockets of her baggy pants. After strolling casually through the rest of the market while ignoring the annoyingly fast beating of her heart, she turned down a small alleyway and transferred the apples into the backpack.

She'd done it. She'd stolen. It was thrilling in a way she didn't want to admit, so Sakura clamped down on any thoughts and headed back out into the street. As she walked past the market stalls again, more items caught her eye. Her hungry stomach made sure she couldn't ignore it. Bread wouldn't be a bad idea. And those little sausages placed so close to the edge of that vendor's stand would surely bring some much needed protein. Running a hand over some oranges, she figured she was in need of some extra vitamin C too. As a good medic, she reasoned, it would be such a disgrace if she ignored the needs of her body. And after all, they couldn't rob a castle while malnourished, could they?

* * *

Arriving back at their room at the inn far later than she'd intended, Sakura ignored Deidara's complaints and dumped the contents of the backpack onto the bed. As the food tumbled out, he stared.

Biting into an apple, she asked, "Is there a problem?"

He shook his head and grinned while picking up one of the oranges Sakura had stolen. "I just didn't think I'd be starting you down the road to kleptomania, yeah."

"You _didn't_," she said hotly, between bites, "We need all of this to recover our strength properly."

"_Right_. I'm sure these little blue berry things have plenty of nutritional value, yeah."

"Hey, _who's_ the medic here again?" She felt the tips of her ear go red, mumbled something about vitamins and minerals, and pretended not to see him rolling his eyes at her. "So what's the plan for separating the local lord from his taxes? You had plenty of time while I was out to think up something better than 'blast our way in through the front door'."

He grinned in a way Sakura didn't like.

She groaned. "_Oh no_…"

Deidara burst out laughing and threw some orange peel at her. "Don't worry, yeah. What do you think I did while you were you gone, sat around here?" Switching into a more serious tone, he continued, "The castle's got an average amount of guards. Those ninja we ran into a few days ago were definitely from around here. It's nothing I can't handle, don't know about you though–" Sakura threw the orange peel back at him, "–but if we're careful I don't think we'll have any problems getting in. I couldn't find out _where_ the money is though, so we'll have to figure that one out once we get in, yeah. Then we just pinch what we need and get out of there."

Chewing her food slowly, she absorbed what he was saying. It wasn't the most detailed mission information she'd ever been given, but it was better than nothing. "So when do you want to do this?"

"Tonight," he said as he unfolded the map of the region, pointing at a section of it. "Once we've got what we need, we'll take off to one of these villages further east. We'll be long gone before they figure out anything's missing here, and then we should have what we need to get back home, yeah."

Sakura sat up straight and nodded in agreement. Tonight it was.


	6. Chapter 6

**Title:** Somewhere I Have Never Travelled, Gladly Beyond  
**Fandom:** Naruto  
**Type:** Multi-chaptered  
**Rating:** Pg-13  
**Pairings:** Deidara/Sakura  
**Word count:** 3,864  
**Summary:** Naruto had been bragging all day that his new jutsu was his best yet. Sakura and her new situation beg to differ. Post time-skip. DeiSaku.

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Naruto.

**A/N:** Action scenes are hard to write!

* * *

Perhaps she would have chosen to delay the heist had she known that night would be so cold, Sakura thought as she rubbed her arms in a futile attempt to keep warm. Her open-toed sandals did little to protect her feet from the thin layer of snow on the ground, her baggy clothes were hardly any defense against the wind, and the backpack that she carried did nothing for her situation either. Crouched beside her beneath the cover of one of the thick, prickly trees outside the castle walls, Deidara showed no signs of feeling the cold. Even in the darkness, however, Sakura could see that the tips of his ears and nose were pink. She couldn't help worrying too that the small white clouds their breath made would somehow jeopardize their attempts at stealth.

Eyes still focused on the castle ahead of them, Deidara leaned in closer to her and dropped his voice to a volume that only Sakura could hear. "See where the edge of the wall is closest to the castle, yeah? We jump the wall, _fast_, and then get onto the closest window ledge. We'll bust in through the window and go from there."

Sakura nodded and resisted the urge to lean further in to where their shoulders brushed; the most warmth she'd felt since they'd stepped out of their inn some time earlier.

"Ready? On my count, yeah." Inner Sakura bristled about why it got to be _his_ count, but she quickly quashed her complaints and tensed for the signal. "One… Two… Three… _Go._"

Reacting automatically, she sprung forward, keeping low to the ground until she reached the wall. Forcing chakra down into her legs to help her jump, Sakura pushed off the ground, pushed off the top of the wall, and landed on the windowsill.

Or rather, she would have landed there had its surface not been covered in a sheet of ice.

In the instant that she felt her landing go wrong and her feet slip out from under her, Sakura noticed with a small twinge of humiliation that Deidara had managed to escape the same fate by throwing himself flat against the window and using both arms to brace himself against the sides of the pane. Beginning her plunge towards the ground, she threw her weight forward in hopes of catching onto Deidara to steady herself. Her fingers missed him by a hair's breadth and Sakura's heart leapt nervously as she continued to fall.

Breath still caught in her throat, Sakura felt a strong grip on her wrist and the disorienting sensation of being pulled up suddenly before she found herself crushed against something warm.

"That was a _fantastic_ start, yeah."

"I've never dealt with this climate before," she hissed, embarrassed at her mistake and how she'd now found herself pressed awkwardly against him. As Deidara loosened his hold on her, Sakura found a steady footing on the icy ledge and moved to the side.

"How do you want to get through here?" she asked, feeling the glass with her fingers and keeping her voice low. "I can punch our way in easily enough, but the sound is going to attract attention."

"There's no need for that, yeah. I've got a better way." Balancing carefully on the ledge, he pressed both hands against the window and moved them slowly. As his hands moved over it, the glass underneath disappeared.

She blinked, confused. "How…?"

"These things can be pretty useful, yeah." He smirked and held up a hand. The mouth on it gave her a smile -- _oh gods_, Sakura's mind cried, that's never going to stop being creepy. "Rocks, ground, glass…" he continued, "They take a while, but as long as no one sees us it's the best way."

Once a decent sized hole in the window had been formed, they slipped into the dark room, staying close to the walls as they made their way to the door. Deidara reached the door first, opening it slightly and peering out.

"All clear, yeah," he said, shutting the door again for a moment. "How do you want to do this? Should we split up to look for the money faster or stick together?"

"Stick together," Sakura answered immediately. She'd never done any solo missions before, and in a place full of enemies she figured it was better to be with a… Sakura pondered the end of that thought for a moment. What was Deidara to her anyway? Certainly not a friend or a trustworthy ally, but they'd stopped trying to kill each other outright so she guessed he didn't qualify as an enemy either. Could she call him a teammate? A partner? That whole line of thought confused her, so she pushed it away.

Unaware of her thoughts, Deidara continued, "Right, I guess you don't trust me not to run off with the money and leave you here on your own, yeah?"

Sakura hoped her surprise didn't register on her face; she'd forgotten to consider that possibility.

"Actually, I don't blame you for thinking that. It's probably true, yeah," he continued, smirking in his maddening way, making her seethe. "So I guess we'll do this together." That settled, they slipped out silently into the hallway.

Since it was late into the night, the castle was unsurprisingly quiet. As the two ninja snuck down the corridors in search of something to indicate where the money was kept, they had no problems hiding from or genjustu-ing the occasional ninja on patrol. After all, a single, ordinary jounin wasn't any threat to an Akatsuki and the Hokage's apprentice. Plus, considering that his specialty was flashy explosives, Sakura had to give Deidara some credit for being pretty good with stealth.

Most rooms that they peeked into were offices or sitting areas, and they weren't having any luck finding something to clue them in on the direction of what Sakura hoped was a huge pile of gold. If worse came to worst, she thought, they could at least swipe one of the pricey looking vases or paintings that decorated the halls and pawn it off somewhere.

Finally, glancing cautiously around a corner, they spotted a door with two guards standing at attention on either side of it.

"This looks promising, yeah," Deidara whispered, "You take out the guard on the left, I'll get the one on the right."

"Right," she nodded, before adding, "But no explosions, okay?"

He made a face at her. "I can do 'quiet' just fine, yeah."

With that, they leapt out from their hiding place. Sakura took down her target with a precise, chakra-enhanced jab to the neck; beside her, she saw Deidara dispatch the other guard as well. Stepping over the guard's body, Deidara turned the handle on the door.

Locked, of course.

"_Goddamnit_," he growled, irritated, "Okay, enough of this quiet thing. There's no way we're going looking for the key and it'll take too long to eat away at the door so let's just blow it open and –"

"No!" Sakura exclaimed, grabbing one of his arms that was already in the process of forming an explosive. "That's going to draw more guards here for sure, and with the smoke we won't be able to see so–"

"I am _not_ waiting for—"

"—let me punch the door in, that should be quiet_er_," she finished, giving him an admonishing look.

He glared at her, but conceded, stepping back to give her room to work. Pausing only to crack her knuckles in preparation, Sakura drew chakra into her fist and drove it through the heavy wood.

"Someone must have heard that," she said, stepping over the splintered door, "Let's do this quickly."

With the exception of a steel safe, the small room was completely bare. Deidara took one look at it and swore. "I can't use explosives on the safe without studying it a bit more carefully, yeah. If the blast is too weak, it won't break it open, but if it's too strong it'll damage whatever's inside."

"Looks like it's my turn again." Sakura didn't bother holding back a smirk of superiority. _Who_ was the useless one now?

Deidara didn't miss those unspoken words. Annoyed, he turned back to the safe, twirling the lock. "Maybe if we just try – AH! What the?!" As a green mist shot out towards him, Deidara reeled back, coughing, hands thrown up to cover his face.

_Poison trap_, Sakura realized with a sinking feeling. How could they not have thought of that? The situation just kept getting better and better; without knowing what sort of poison it was or how long it took to set in, she'd have to heal him soon to be safe.

First things first though. Shoving him out of the way and covering her nose and mouth with one of the baggy sleeves of her shirt, she punched the safe open. It was filled with stacks of what must be the country's currency – _oh thank goodness this wasn't all for nothing_, Sakura thought – which she quickly stuffed into her backpack.

That done, she slung the pack over her shoulders again and tugged the still-cursing Deidara out of the room and down the hall. He leaned heavily against her, disoriented and rubbing his eyes. Dragging him along with her, Sakura started to panic as she heard footsteps and voices coming their way. Casting about frantically for some place to hide, she picked a door along the hallway at random and shoved them both inside.

Unfortunately the door did not lead to a proper room as she had been hoping. Squashed between a set of shelves piled with linens, the door, a backpack full of heavy coins, and Deidara, Sakura wasn't exactly comfortable. If Ino ever heard of this, Sakura was certain she'd laugh to no end. Sure it was every girl's silly dream to be stuck in a closet with a boy, but it wasn't quite so romantic when the guy was a poisoned criminal, somewhere in that no-man's land between enemy and ally, and a castle full of people happened to be hunting you down.

She glanced up to see Deidara very pale, his eyes having trouble focusing on her. "Just try to mask your chakra for a minute," she whispered, praying he could at least do that. He gave her a feeble nod, wincing at the effort.

Closing her eyes and willing herself to calm down, Sakura concentrated on making her chakra unnoticeable to anyone passing by. Even if her chakra didn't give her away, she was sure her heartbeat pounding loudly in her ears would. Pressed up against his chest, Sakura could hear Deidara's heart beating quickly as well. From a medical point of view, this was very reassuring; a steady, albeit fast, heartbeat meant he wasn't totally screwed by the poison just yet. There was also something oddly comforting in that sound that made her know she wasn't completely alone in this mess.

As the sound of footsteps and yelling passed by the door and further down the corridor, Sakura let out the breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding. Time to get to work. Moving awkwardly in the confined space, she took hold of one of Deidara's wrists, placing an index and middle finger against the underside of it.

"What are you doing, yeah?" His voice was weak and had an almost sleepy slur to it.

"I'm going to try to draw out the poison. As long as it's not something too bad," her mind flashed back involuntarily to Sasori, "I should be able to pull it out. The skin at the wrists is thin, so it's the easiest place to try this."

Not waiting for his permission, she sent tendrils of chakra into him, feeling around for harmful particles. Examining one of them, Sakura felt a wave of relief. While it was deadly, she'd dealt with far worse before. He wouldn't need an antidote. Knowing they couldn't wait around in the closet forever, she began bringing out the poison.

When at last she couldn't locate any more of it, she released his wrist and used one of the linen sheets beside her to wipe away the trickle of green liquid. "I think I got most of it out. That should be good enough for now, at least." Grabbing a second clean sheet, she wiped away that sweat that had appeared across her face.

"I don't know if I like the words 'think' and 'should be', yeah." Sakura guessed that if he could manage a tone like that, he must be feeling better already.

Not really expecting a 'thank you' in the first place, she explained, "Don't worry, you'll be fine. If there's any more poison left it won't be enough to be harmful. The worst it could probably do now is give you flu-like symptoms for a few days until your body fights off the rest of it. I'll take another look at you once we're out of here."

He continued glaring at her, but, Sakura thought smugly, they both knew he owed her _big time_.

"We should keep moving, yeah. Let's find our way back out of this place." Inner Sakura whined that he was just trying to shift the topic away from her totally saving his ass, but she knew he had a point.

They listened cautiously for a few moments before deciding it was safe to move. Glad to be out of the confines of the closet, Sakura noted with pride that Deidara was already looking much healthier.

As they wound carefully through the castle trying to locate an area to escape from unseen, the straps of the heavy backpack dug into Sakura's shoulders. Her winces of pain didn't go unnoticed by Deidara. "I'll take the pack for a while, yeah."

Sliding it off her shoulders, she handed it to him gratefully. "Thanks," Unable to stop herself, she added, "But don't think this makes up for me saving you back there because –"

Clapping a hand over her mouth, prompting Inner Sakura's usual shrieking, Deidara dragged her suddenly into a room beside them. Sakura understood what was happening when she heard the hurried footsteps of a group of people in the corridor.

Deidara loosened his hold on Sakura, stepping away and glaring at her. "That was close, yeah. You've really got to learn to shut up someti-"

He was cut short by a kunai implanting itself in the wall inches from his head.

Spinning around immediately, kunai already in her hand, Sakura saw a group of ninja appear from hiding places around the office. Possibly just important as the ninja, a window was visible on the other side of the room. If they could just get past the line of enemies they'd have no problem escaping, she realized.

Unfortunately they were largely outnumbered. To make matters worse, the ninja who had found them sounded like they were calling for backup. At the rate things were going, they'd be surrounded if they didn't get away soon. With no time to waste, Sakura darted forwards, attacking the enemy closest to her.

Beside her, Deidara began with a series of powerful explosions. Through the smoke, Sakura saw that he'd managed to blow away a line of enemy ninja and collapse part of the wall leading to outside. Her perfect chance to escape was ruined, however, by her being occupied with the other ninja attacking her.

As Sakura continued fighting, Deidara took off through the breach in the enemy line and jumped out of the hole in the wall without a second look back.

Just as she managed to get in a finishing blow on her opponent, reinforcements kicked in the door behind her, filling in the gaps left by Deidara's explosion.

She was trapped.

_Crap._

* * *

Still feeling quite pleased with himself after what he thought to be some particularly beautiful explosions, Deidara hardly noticed that Sakura hadn't followed him out. Once he was sure no enemies had tailed after him, he realized that something was amiss.

So the pink-haired bint hadn't managed to get herself out of there, yeah? How unsurprising. Strolling casually away from the castle's walls and resisting the urge to whistle contentedly, Deidara pushed the thoughts of the kunoichi out of his mind. Although…

He did have a few scrapes on him. And if there was still some of that poison left over, it wouldn't be that bad to have himself a medic-nin.

Also, travelling alone might get kind of boring.

He had kinda left her there too.

And he _did_ owe her one from before.

_Goddamned morals_.

Frowning, he made a mental note to squash the last of them out of himself later. For now…

Jumping over to one of the prickly trees, he stuffed the backpack into a tangle of branches, remembering the location so he could come back for it later, and then took off towards the castle before he could rethink his actions.

* * *

Well, looks like this might be the end, Sakura thought as she was cornered by the enemy ninja. Admittedly, she was a little bit disappointed in how things were turning out. She'd always thought she'd die protecting a beloved friend, or while completing some mission crucial to the survival of Konoha. As she liked to picture it, she would be wearing something a bit more glamorous than hand-me-downs from a dead soldier, and she would die with grace like some beautiful kunoichi in a legend. Sometimes, if she was feeling particularly optimistic, she'd imagine that she wouldn't die at all; some mysterious ANBU member, who, when she had been younger, had usually turned out to be Sasuke, would sweep in and save her just in time. Unfortunately but not unexpectedly, Sakura thought bitterly, reality was turning out to be quite different from her fantasies.

A kunai nicked her shoulder. She regretted having been so impatient with Naruto all these years. She could sure use one of his 'number one ninja of surprise' tricks right about now.

A genjutsu threatened to trap her but she dispelled it at the last moment. She regretted never having told Kakashi that he was a bad teacher, but that she still thought he was one of the coolest people she'd ever met.

A fire-based ninjutsu attack blistered the skin on her arm. She regretted having spent most of her adolescent life mooning over that moody, selfish brat Sasuke. He hadn't deserved her, and she'd wasted so many years pining after the traitor. Knowing her luck, he was probably gay anyway.

A handful of senbon planted themselves in her shoulder. She wished she could tell Ino that she'd never really meant any of those insults, even though sometimes she had, and that it'd been so bloody _stupid_ to let Sasuke get in the way of their friendship. She wished she could see her friend in her flower shop again, make-up immaculate and long blond hair tied back perfectly.

Blond hair…

Someone kicked her in the stomach, sending her reeling back. She wished she could tell Deidara that he looked like a girl. And punch him the face. Preferably both at the same time. Yes, she regretted _very_ much that she'd never get the chance to do that.

Something sharp was driven into her side, and Sakura wondered why she was wasting her last moments thinking about that irritating bastard who'd left her to die.

Half-blind from pain, Sakura clutched her last remaining kunai in one hand and tried to stop the bleeding of her new injury with the other. Her legs wobbled and threatened to collapse beneath her. This is it, she told herself, this is your final stand. You're going to die, but make sure you go out with a bang.

The wall beside her was blown apart impressively.

"You'd better still be alive! Cause I didn't bust back in here for my own health, yeah!"

Shocked and losing blood quickly, Sakura's knees gave way beneath her. There was no way he would have come back for her. Her dying mind must be playing tricks on her. Oh cruel world, why must the last thing I hallucinate be _him_?

Disoriented from the noise and light of explosions coupled with the lightheadedness of blood loss, Sakura hardly understood what was happening as someone picked her up off the floor, slinging her over his shoulder. Her face met with blond hair and she wondered illogically for a moment if Tsunade-shishou had somehow tracked her down and rescued her. That couldn't be true though, Sakura thought as the cold wind of the outdoors struck her, because while Tsunade could swear just as colourfully as what she was hearing now, her voice was no where near as deep as this person's.

In combination with the pain that seemed to be coming from all over, the sensation of being carried by someone jumping and running made her want to be violently ill. Unable to concentrate on where she was going, Sakura struggled to keep from blacking out. Before she knew it, she was in a sleazy room that looked vaguely familiar.

No, don't put me on the bed, she wanted to say, you'll ruin the sheets. She could feel her mouth moving but no words came out, so she soon found herself staining those poor covers red. In the moments when her vision stopped blurring enough for her surroundings to become discernable, she recognized Deidara beside her, cursing a blue streak. It struck her as odd that he was there with her, but even more than that, she wanted to laugh because some of the words coming out of his mouth were downright _ridiculous_. Unfortunately through the pain and numbness all over her body, Sakura couldn't tell if she was even managing to crack a smile.

Deidara pulled his shirt off and started tearing it into strips, never stopping with line after line of expletives. Shirt torn to shreds, he picked up a kunai and proceeded to rip off Sakura's overly large, bloodstained shirt – Inner Sakura cried out that something wasn't right here, but she couldn't quite put her finger on what.

Shocked by the sensation of warm hands wrapping cloth around her torso, Sakura realized something _very important_.

Half-crazed from the combination of blood loss and the after-effects of a massive adrenaline rush, Sakura was giddy with joy at her discovery. _She was alive_. For the millionth time, she'd looked death in the eyes and flipped him the bird. She'd tap-danced on mortality. From now on, she decided, she was going to live to the absolute fullest. Her delirious mind told her that _this was the very first day of the rest of her life._ She resolved that when she finally faced down death for the last time, she'd go with no regrets.

"D-Deidara?" Curse her voice for being so soft and shaky.

He was busy tying the makeshift bandages made of his shirt tightly around her wounds, his face the picture of concentration, but spared a quick glance up at her. "Yeah?"

Summoning the last of her strength, Sakura punched him in the face.

"You look like a girl."

She passed out.

"…_WHAT THE FUCK?_"


	7. Chapter 7

**Title:** Somewhere I Have Never Travelled, Gladly Beyond  
**Fandom:** Naruto  
**Type:** Multi-chaptered  
**Rating:** Pg-13  
**Pairings:** Deidara/Sakura  
**Word count:** 4,429  
**Summary:** Naruto had been bragging all day that his new jutsu was his best yet. Sakura and her new situation beg to differ. Post time-skip. DeiSaku.

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Naruto.

**A/N:** Sorry for the delay - real life kept me busy.

* * *

As soon as her mind wrapped itself around the fact that, yes, she was indeed in excruciating pain, the next thing Sakura noticed when she awoke was that she had absolutely no idea where she was.

The room was plain, with ordinary white walls and wooden furniture, and Sakura was lying in a double bed with a quilt thrown over her. Folded messily by her feet were a plain black sweater and a pair of dark pants. Blinking groggily as she absorbed more of her surroundings, she managed the strength to move her arm and her fingers felt along the bandages covering her stomach and chest.

A sharp pain along her abdomen made her wince. "_Ouch_!"

As the sound of her scratchy voice faded into the silence of the room, it occurred to her that she was well and truly alone. Her attempts at getting a better look around the room to confirm this were foiled by the pain that made her unable to sit up. Taking a deep breath to gather her concentration, Sakura channeled an experimental bit of chakra down into her wounds. When even that small exertion made her nauseous, she resigned herself to some more bed rest.

With nothing else to do but let her thoughts wander, Sakura wondered what had happened to land her in this situation. Forcing herself to concentrate through the beginnings of a headache, she tried to recall the events of the previous night. She'd been in some serious trouble with those ninja while trying to escape the castle, and then… Sakura frowned. From what she could remember, Deidara had -- Don't say 'saved', yelled Inner Sakura, you have your pride! -- come back to help her out. The rest of her memories were hazy and filled with gaps, but even having lost a good deal of blood she still managed a profound blush of embarrassment at the thought of him divesting her of her shirt. After that…

Cringing, she vaguely recalled a memory of her fist connecting with his face. And then…

_Oh dear_, she _had_ said that, hadn't she?

That explained why she was alone, at least. It was slightly surprising that he hadn't killed her or left her for dead in a ditch after what she'd pulled, but Sakura wasn't complaining.

Moving her arm gently away from her injuries to rest beside her, Sakura considered what her next actions should be. For now, she had no choice but to rest. Once she managed to regain enough strength to heal herself, she'd have to leave quickly. It was likely she was still somewhere in the same city as the castle, and undoubtedly the local lord had everyone under his command looking for her. Thinking this over, it occurred to Sakura that Deidara had probably left her alive as bait or a distraction for the local authorities. Depressingly, that thought made a lot more sense than her other explanation that he'd just been feeling charitable.

Once she was reasonably well healed, she'd have to take off quickly. Get into another town. Find out where she was. Make her way home.

Alone.

The thought of that sent a twinge of unexpected sadness through her, much to her surprise. It's not like she'd miss the jerk. While Deidara had helped her out of a few binds, he'd also consistently tried to leave her behind. He accused her of being weak, even though she'd proven her strength and abilities more times than necessary. Probably his worst trait was how he seemed to have a natural ability to always say the most annoying or irritating things in any situation. Anything out of his mouth could be guaranteed to piss her off.

In that respect, he _did_ kind of remind her of Naruto or Sai. It was alright when they said something out of line though, she reflected, because they were friends and teammates. A quick fist to the jaw usually fixed whatever their problem was too. Deidara though… Sakura still wasn't quite sure what to qualify their relationship as. Physical fighting with him was out of the question too, but she never felt compelled to restrain any verbal responses. It was, in a way, refreshing to not have to hide her anger or true thoughts behind that studious and demure attitude she'd cultivated for years in Konoha. She didn't have to contain her inner self around him, didn't have to play the good girl. Bantering with him had been the most fun she'd had throughout this whole nightmare. Aside from all that, it was also undeniable that it would be weird traveling alone. Sakura had a feeling that had she been blown away to who-knows-where all on her own, with no one to talk to and not being able to think comfortingly "At least I'm not the only one", she probably would have gone _absolutely insane._ When she thought of traveling all by herself, with no one to throw sarcastic or teasing comments at, it just seemed so… _Lonely_.

She squeezed her eyes shut. So maybe sometimes it had been nice to have him around, but _either way_ it was clear that he had a _ton_ of negative qualities. And to top it all off, he had those creepy hand mouths. Yes, good riddance!

Sakura reopened her eyes and stared blankly at the ceiling for a minute, with just enough energy to chew absent-mindedly on her lip.

Okay, so maybe if she was going to be _perfectly_ honest with herself, she had to admit that she was going to miss hi--

The door of the room creaked open on squeaky hinges, interrupting her thoughts.

Swearing mentally, Sakura pulled herself into a sitting position, her injuries straining and sending flashes of pain all over. In a panic, she looked wildly around the room for something to defend herself with. _Goddammit_, she thought, if he'd had to leave her all alone, he could've at least left her a weapon!

An annoyed drawl cut her panic short. "If you split your injuries back open I'm not helping you this time, yeah."

Freezing entirely, it took Sakura a moment to focus her eyes towards the door. Even with her vision blurring with pain, she recognized the blond hair, the blue eyes, and the familiar smirk. One side of his face was also covered in an impressively purple bruise. Despite her shocked state, Sakura realized it would be prudent to avoid the subject of how he'd acquired that.

Black spots edged their way into her vision and the room swam, her body unable to handle the strain of her previous movements. Using an arm to keep herself upright and gasping for breath, Sakura tried to force down the urge to pass out. A hand on her shoulder steadied her and helped lower her back onto bed.

"Careful," Deidara warned, "you've really banged yourself up." After placing her back on the bed he pulled up a chair and sat down. "You missed a good show back there, you know? _Very_ nice explosions, if I do say so myself. And what's up with the medic getting injured, yeah? Aren't _you_ supposed to be healing _me_?"

Only half-aware that she was staring with wide eyes and open mouth at him, Sakura tried to force her voice to work. "W-why…?" When the word came out rough and garbled, she cleared her throat and retried, "Why are you here?"

He frowned at her and she continued on hurriedly, her words tumbling out of their own volition, "It's not that I don't want you here! I really appreciate how much you've helped me out. It's just that you've always been looking for a way to go off on your own and leave me and this was the perfect chance but instead you stayed and helped and _I just don't get it_ --"

Realizing that she was rambling, Sakura glanced away from him nervously. "Actually, never mind all that." She licked her parched lips, trying to find a topic to cover up her embarrassment. "Can I… Can I have some water?"

Still scowling at her, he wandered away for a moment, returning with a glass of water and setting it on the nightstand.

Sakura struggled to sit up enough to drink without making a complete fool of herself as Deidara slouched in the chair, arms crossed and appearing generally unconcerned with her troubles. When the pain from her wounds stabbed a little too sharp, Sakura swallowed her pride and asked grudgingly, "A little help here?"

He sneered. "_Of course._"

_Bastard._

Deidara helped her sit up more gently than she'd been expecting and handed her the glass. When it wobbled in her hand and splashed water onto the quilt, he snickered and mumbled something that Sakura swore had the word 'invalid' in it, before taking the glass from her and holding it up to her lips. Sakura narrowed her eyes and glared at him from over the rim of the glass as she drank.

When the water was gone and he'd set the glass back down, Sakura gathered her courage for something she knew she had to do. He _did_ deserve it, at least. "Thank you."

Surprisingly, the words weren't as hard to say as she'd expected.

At that moment, Sakura was glad that Deidara was the sort of person who could never hide what he was feeling; his face went through an interesting contortion of vague unease, surprise, and embarrassment before he tried to cover it up with a: "Just don't expect me to spoon feed you or anything."

She made a face at him but continued anyways. "No, I mean 'thank you' is what I should have said before. You know, for-" She paused momentarily, "- for saving me."

"That probably would have been a lot nicer than getting punched in the face, yeah."

Sakura felt her face flush. Hands twisting the quilt into knots nervously and reluctant to continue on that topic, she changed the subject. "So… How did you find this place?"

"The owner doesn't need it anymore." From the tone of finality in his voice, Sakura suddenly found that she didn't want to know exactly why that was the case.

"I see." Trying to think about anything other than the unfortunate fate of the apartment's previous owner, Sakura asked, "How long have I been out?"

"Just one day." He rubbed his eyes with the back of a hand wearily. This action prompted the medic part of Sakura to look at him carefully. For the first time since waking up, she noticed that he was much more pale and drawn than usual.

"Hey, are you alright?"

He shrugged and hesitated before answering, "Mostly. It's just, you know how you said that some of that poison might be left over and could cause some small problems?" She nodded. "Well, I don't think you got it all out, yeah."

Sakura squashed down the nagging suspicion that the remaining poison was probably one of the key factors in his decision to keep her alive. She figured he'd done enough for her to start giving him _some_ credit at least. "I should take a look just to be sure you'll be alright."

He shook his head and replied, "It's nothing. Like you said before, it'll pass on its own, yeah? Save your chakra to heal yourself so we can get out of here as soon as possible."

"Just let me take a quick look." Ignoring the pain in her side, she reached over to grab one of his hands before he could protest.

Pushing down the sensation of dizziness that hit her, Sakura closed her eyes and directed her chakra towards him. Examining him was difficult with her concentration occasionally broken by waves of pain and nausea, but gradually she tracked down the few remaining particles of the poison were left. She was only able to draw out a small amount before she was overtaken with dizziness and fell back to slump against the headboard.

Swearing under his breath, Deidara helped maneuver Sakura back onto the bed. "Hey, be careful! I told you I'd be fine. But if you end dying or something dumb like that I'm going to be really pissed after all the work I did to patch you up, yeah. You need to get some more sleep."

When her eyes could focus properly again, Sakura looked up at him. The usual annoyance on his face was mixed with concern, which she knew was an emotion he'd never admit to having. Upon seeing his expression, Sakura couldn't help but break out into a huge smile. It couldn't just be her who found the idea of traveling without the other just slightly depressing, she realized with relief -- otherwise she was quite sure he would've glared at her in disdain, said "You are _way too troublesome_, yeah," and left her to deal with her injuries herself.

Deidara looked perplexed as Sakura grinned like an idiot at him. "Um, you okay?"

"I'm fine," she said, still smiling, before glancing at the purple and blue marks covering one side of his face and adding, "I'll heal that bruise in the morning once more of my chakra comes back."

"You'd better." Attributing it to either her recent revelation or the imagination of her weary mind, Sakura thought that his voice didn't sound as angry or menacing as she would have expected. Instead, he just seemed tired.

Confirming her thoughts, Deidara yawned, walked over to the other side of the room to turn off the lights, and then flopped down onto the bed. "I've got explosives placed, so no one's getting in here alive, or at least not without us noticing. It'll be safe to sleep."

With that, he kicked off his sandals, stripped off his shirt, and slid under the covers. Sakura's mind protested weakly for a moment about issues of propriety before she shushed it. If he'd wanted to try anything he'd had plenty of opportunities before. She felt a blush flare up again as she remembered that he'd been the one to bandage her. Her feelings of embarrassment weren't helped when she realized that her chest bindings would have had to have been removed too. However, even though he was Akatsuki, Sakura's slowly changing view of Deidara as a person no longer fit with the idea of him being one to take advantage of injured females; not because of any shining code of morals, but because he had far too much pride.

It was strange, she thought, how he was becoming more human to her. As all ninja knew, overcoming life-and-death situations was bound to form some sort of bond, but she'd never thought about how it could change the interaction of enemies. She knew she would still have to be careful and stay on her guard, but for now there was an unspoken truce between them. Besides, the more time she spent around him, the less she thought of him as just an Akatsuki thug. It was strange to discover that he had a personality and little quirks like anyone else. She knew there was a difference between being 'nice' and being 'good', so her weary mind supposed it could accept a difference between 'Deidara is a jerk' and 'plain out evil' as well.

A voice broke through the silence in the darkened room, effectively crushing her thoughts. "You don't do anything annoying like get night terrors, yeah?"

"Will you _shut up?_"

* * *

Her sleep was interrupted a few times that night when she rolled over a little too far and her body sent shocks of pain to remind her of its condition. Each time she awoke, she channeled small portions of chakra into her wounds and felt her body slowly mending itself back together.

After drifting in and out of wisps of dreams, Sakura awoke once again. This time, she found that she'd rolled up against something warm. She also had a face-full of hair.

A mocking voice identified what she'd ended up against. "A few nights ago weren't _you_ telling _me_ not to try anything, yeah? If you weren't incapable of sitting up without passing out, I'd be afraid for my virtue."

"Sorry, sorry," she mumbled, still half-asleep, and wriggled back over to her side of the bed.

Concentrating on not falling immediately back to sleep, she placed a hand against her abdomen, but paused just before sending chakra to heal herself. Turning her head towards Deidara, she whispered, "Are you still awake?"

"No, I'm not. Shut up."

Sakura smirked at how irritable he was when tired, but continued, "I think I have enough chakra now to heal that bruise. I can give it a shot if you'd like."

The bed shifted as he turned to face her. "What the hell are you telling me that for at this time of the night, yeah? It can't wait until morning?"

She had to admit he had a point, however: "If I'm wrong and I don't have enough chakra, it can't do me any harm to pass out when I'm already lying down, right?"

With her eyes adjusting gradually to the light, she could see Deidara consider this for a moment before replying, "Okay. Give it a shot."

Trying not to wince as she turned to face him and slid closer, Sakura reached out one hand and placed it against the side of his face. The blue glow of the chakra illuminated them softly in the dark and she could see Deidara close his eyes against it. When she'd finished, Sakura moved closer to him and squinted through the dark at the area previously covered by the bruise. "Looks like it's all healed."

Running a hand over his cheek, she was glad to feel that it wasn't swollen anymore either. Beside her, she felt Deidara tense and she realized suddenly how close they were. Despite her body's vote for staying close beside him because he was comfortably warm, Sakura quickly shuffled back over to the other side of the bed and hoped that the darkness hid her blush.

"Right. Thanks, yeah." His voice sounded a little edgy, but Sakura was sure that was only because he was tired.

Pulling the covers up around her shoulders to guard against the chilly night, Sakura tried to sleep. This was made impossible by her heart beating oddly fast and unwanted thoughts that rushed through her head. She closed her eyes tightly in the vain hope of fending them off. This was to no avail, so she picked one that was particularly persistent and turned it over and over in her mind.

Curiosity getting the best of her, Sakura rolled carefully onto her side again and asked quietly, "Deidara?"

A frustrated groan and a voice mumbled against a pillow responded to her. "_What do you want now?_"

In the anonymity of the dark, it seemed easier to voice her thoughts. "Why did you join Akatsuki?"

"_What?_" he asked incredulously, not sure he'd heard her right.

This was treading dangerous waters, but with both of them obscured in the night, she could almost pretend she wasn't asking him at all. "Why did you join?"

A pause. "What brought that up, yeah?"

What, indeed? Sakura tried to sort through her thoughts, with little success. Unable to untangle everything going through her mind, she dove straight in. "It's just… Akatsuki are evil, they're what we've been fighting against for years. And everyone I've met or heard about who's in the organization is a real piece of work." She pulled the blankets up closer around her shoulders as her mind conjured images of Itachi and Sasori; children killing parents. "They would never be able to fit in _anywhere_. But with you… It doesn't seem completely impossible that you'd be able to live in a hidden village. Sure you can be a real bastard, like to blow things up more than is mentally healthy, and your 'morals' are on the sketchy side, but sometimes you seem almost normal."

"Oh _thanks._"

Ignoring his comment, she continued, the words coming on their own, "What I mean is, the more time I spend around you, the less you seem to be like the other Akatsuki. You're _weird_, yes, and those hand-mouths creep me out so bad," -- she felt him shift slightly beside her and suspected she'd touched on part of the problem, "but you don't seem to be full out evil for evil's sake, or whatever it is the other members are. So I guess I just don't understand; what _happened_ to make you join Akatsuki?"

"…I'm not like those pansies back in Konoha, yeah. I don't do that 'talking about your feelings and past' crap." Sakura could just barely make out his blue eyes looking directly at her as he hesitated before continuing, in a less sharp tone than before, "Besides, since it looks like we're going to keep traveling together for a bit more, it would probably be best if you didn't know."

Although her curiosity was even more piqued, Sakura sighed. It didn't seem like she was going to get anything out of him. "It was that bad?"

As her eyes adjusted to the night, she could see him shrug. "It was bad enough. Let's just say that at the time, joining up seemed like the only option."

"Ah, the whole 'young and stupid' thing, right?"

Sakura imagined that if she could see his expression properly, it would almost pass as embarrassed. That was probably just her wishful thinking though. "Maybe a little something like that, yeah."

Corners of her mouth tugging into a grin, she pushed her luck. "So you joined up pretty recently?"

In response, Deidara pulled the pillow out from under his head and hit her with it.

While most of the blow glanced harmlessly off her shoulder, the pillow also struck along her ribs, close to one of her injuries. Eyes wide in surprise, Sakura sucked in a breath sharply from the sudden pain. "Ow!"

With a string of curses, Deidara moved closer to her, helping her shift to lie on her back. Hands already sending chakra over the wound, she shot him a glare and ground out between clenched teeth, "See what I mean about you being a jerk?"

Running a hand through his hair in an almost nervous gesture, he said, "I forgot! You okay?" She nodded. As he settled back onto the bed, not bothering to move away from her, his face shifted into a grin that she knew meant trouble. "Cause if you got taken out by a pillow after all we've been through, you'd be _really lame_, yeah."

Sakura couldn't help but laugh at that, but the movement made her wince. Although Deidara tried to appear unconcerned, she caught him glancing over at her, his eyebrows creasing slightly. "I'll be fine," she reassured him, grinning at his poor attempts to conceal his worry. "I've already healed the worst, and by morning I should be able to fix up the rest. A pillow's not going to kill me. Besides, you think I'd let you take me down?"

Apparently satisfied with her answer, Deidara relaxed back onto the pillows, making himself comfortable. "Hmph, _someone's_ overconfident."

"It's not overconfidence if it's true," she mumbled, barely audible, as she closed her eyes.

The room fell into silence, and Sakura enjoyed the feeling of being drowsy and warm beneath the covers. It did, however, strike her as odd that she felt completely safe sleeping next to an enemy. _Former enemy_, she reminded herself. If they didn't have a truce now, they never would. Mentally listing off weapons and techniques, she tried to lull herself to sleep.

"Sakura?"

For a moment she thought she'd dreamt that Deidara had spoken. It wasn't often that he said her name, much less anything that didn't sound at least a little bit mocking. She was surprised, but in her half-asleep state she could answer with nothing more than an articulate: "Hmm?"

"Do you really want to know, yeah?"

As she reopened her eyes, it took her a moment to realize what he was talking about: Did she really want to know why he'd joined Akatsuki?

Turning her head to look at him, she opened her mouth to say 'yes', but stopped short. She looked him straight in the eyes, seeing hints of the bright blue through the dark. For once there was no sign of a smirk in his features. The way he was now, he didn't seem threatening at all. She could almost forget all of the things he'd done in the past, as if they'd been committed by someone else entirely. It was difficult to equate the Deidara who'd kidnapped the Kazekage with the Deidara who she'd bantered with non-stop since the beginning of this whole adventure.

She tried to imagine herself being stuck with any of the other Akatsuki members. The first to come to mind was Itachi. Putting aside the fact that he would have killed her right from the start, she would never have been able to stay near him, much less give him the slightest amount of trust. If what Deidara had done in his past was anywhere near as horrifying, she wasn't sure they'd be able to continue as they had. Sakura began to understand that he'd been right in not wanting to tell her. Just for now, she told herself, just for now you can let yourself pretend that everything is alright. It was for the best; she needed some peace of mind to get her through this journey home. He could tell her when they got back to Konoha, went their separate ways, and went back to trying to kill each other. For now she needed -- _wanted_, corrected her cruelly truthful inner voice -- to believe that he had joined the organization out of a mistake. That he was exactly as she'd come to see him: not _good_, but far from the usual cloaked monsters she associated Akatsuki with. That, when it came down to it, they were both just ordinary people. That they could get through this, if they worked together.

_That maybe you don't _want _to see him as you used to_, whispered that traitorous little voice in her head.

"No," Sakura replied slowly, still holding Deidara's gaze, her voice soft. "No, I don't want to know. Forget I said anything."

He smiled wearily before closing his eyes. "Go back to sleep. You need it."

Her retort of "So do you" was cut short as she drifted off to sleep as well.


	8. Chapter 8

**Title:** Somewhere I Have Never Travelled, Gladly Beyond  
**Fandom:** Naruto  
**Type:** Multi-chaptered  
**Rating:** Pg-13  
**Pairings:** Deidara/Sakura  
**Word count:** 3,291  
**Summary:** Naruto had been bragging all day that his new jutsu was his best yet. Sakura and her new situation beg to differ. Post time-skip. DeiSaku.

**A/N:** Long overdue.

* * *

Sakura was awoken by the bed shifting and a sudden lack of warmth beside her. Tugging the quilt closer around her shoulders and blinking the sleep from her eyes, she saw Deidara pull on his sweater and sandals before making his way towards the door.

As he reabsorbed back into his hands the small bits of clay outlining the doorway, Sakura cleared her throat and asked, "Where are you going?"

He glanced back at her over his shoulder, hardly interrupting his work of clearing the explosives. "To steal us some food."

Frowning, she was torn between disappointment and relief, but not at all surprise, that his voice took on its usual tone with her. He gave no indication that anything had passed between them the night before. Ignoring the conflicting feelings, she asked, "Can't you just buy it? We've got money now."

Sighing dramatically, he paused in his work and turned towards her, explaining as though it were the simplest thing in the world, "It's a matter of _principal_, yeah. Akatsuki don't pay for things."

"Girls don't like guys who are cheap," she teased in a sing-song voice, although the phrase accidentally ended in a yawn. Glancing quickly under the covers to make sure that she was decent – yes, pants and _tons_ of bandages – she slid out from under the quilt, being careful not to strain her wounds too much. Both her delight that she didn't pass out while standing up and the unpleasantly cold floor beneath her feet helped her concentrate on drowning out Deidara's annoyed retorts to her truthful comment.

Sakura picked up the shirt and pants that had been pushed off the end of the bed at some point during the night. Cutting off Deidara's tirade without even a glance at him, she asked, "Are these clothes are for me?"

"…Yes." His voice was tense and strained as he fumed at her, and Sakura had to fight back a triumphant smile that she'd totally won the day's first petty argument. Nonetheless, she thought, slightly disappointed, it might be best to appease him; the day had barely begun, and she had a feeling it was going to be long enough anyways without her being on his bad side. A lack of cooperation between them while being on the run from the local feudal lord couldn't be expected to end well.

"I think my healing is coming along nicely," she commented before glancing over at him. "How are you feeling this morning? Do you want me to take a look?" She cringed inwardly at the tone of her voice and hoped the exaggerated amount of sweetness and concern didn't sound _too _fake. She knew he was almost perfectly fine; his body would be capable of fighting off any remaining poison left in him by now, especially after a good night of sleep.

"I'm fine, yeah," he growled out, not meeting her eyes, and Sakura could hear the slight softening in his voice. _Success!_ "You should be more concerned about yourself. You're still an absolute mess."

"_Thanks_," she replied sarcastically. "I'm getting better, you know. It's not like I haven't survived harder fights before."

Her tone was intended to be light, but it twisted from her control as she thought involuntarily of Sasori and his puppets. Sakura felt her thoughts display on her face, and saw them reflected on Deidara's. Right, she reminded herself, she shouldn't think about that. He wasn't really Akatsuki, or at least not a monster like Itachi, and she hadn't killed his partner. They had made their uneasy peace, but it needed to be kept.

Eager for a distraction, Sakura poked at her midsection, examining her own injuries. With all of the chakra she'd been pouring into them, they felt like they were healing fairly well. She did, however, have one thing to take care of before she set out for the day. "Do we have more bandages?" She had to lean over slightly to see her wrappings clearly. The movement made her wince, and she noticed that there were several patches of red showing through the strips of cloth. "These ones are all bloody, I need to change them."

Nodding and grateful for the change of subject, Deidara walked over to a desk across the room. Sakura noticed that the small amount of supplies they had, as well as the backpack full of money, had been thrown haphazardly across it. Sorting through the mess, he grabbed some rolls of white bandages.

"I'm not much of a medic," he explained as he handed her some of the dressings, "But this was the best I could find on short notice."

'Short notice' was a bit of an understatement, Sakura thought wryly as she untangled the first roll. With a teammate down and a castle of enemies swarming after you, it was impressive that he'd managed all that he had. A sudden wave of gratefulness hit her for all that he'd done, and she felt a little guilty for needling him earlier about being cheap.

Pointedly ignoring that thought to save her pride, Sakura concentrated on her wounds. Finding one end of the stained bandages around her torso, she started to unwind them carefully before something occurred to her. Looking up at Deidara who was helping untangle the fresh strips of cloth, she asked, "Err, could you turn around for a minute?"

He glanced up at her and blinked, uncomprehending. Gesturing towards her top half and the bandages she was unwinding, she didn't know quite what else to say. Deidara's eyes followed the direction of Sakura's hands, his gaze landing unconsciously on a part of her anatomy that would, in any other situation, have merited a slap. It took a moment before he seemed to clue in. Blushing a furious shade of red, he tossed the rest of the clean bandages on the bed and turned back towards the door, continuing to clear the explosive clay.

"Not like it's nothing I haven't seen already, yeah," he mumbled, embarrassed and failing miserably to hide it. Sakura could see that even the tips of his ears had turned red. As his comment settled in, she felt herself matching his blush and busied herself in changing her dressings while pretending not to have heard. She tried in vain to convince herself that he might have been the one to bandage her up in the first place, but it's _different_ during a medical emergency.

When she'd finished rebinding her wounds, Sakura slipped on the nondescript black shirt and pants that had been laid out for her and was surprised to find that they fit fairly well. She raised an eyebrow at Deidara's back as he pretended to still be busy with the traps around the door. Whether it was luck or something else that had allowed him to find her properly sized clothes, it was certainly a welcome change from Naruto, who had never fully grasped the concept that giving her clothes twice her size wasn't flattering.

While trying in vain to smooth away the wrinkles in her shirt, Sakura said, "I'm all done bandaging myself up. We can head out whenever."

Deidara turned to face her, the remnants of his earlier blush still not entirely faded. "We?"

Sakura faltered; she hadn't been expecting any opposition. "W-Well, of course I'm coming with you. I'm not just going to sit around here and --"

Shaking his head, Deidara interrupted her, "No way. I might not know much about healing and that sort of thing, but you need to rest, yeah. I'm not dragging you around town if there's a risk you might reopen your injuries. Stay here, I'll be back in fifteen. Get some more rest for now, and we'll leave for another town once we've had something to eat."

It was hard to suppress the smile that crept onto her face when she heard the concern in his voice. Harder still, was pushing away the sudden, silly thoughts that he was almost being sweet. Her heart beat a little too hard in her chest as she replied, "You don't have to worry about me."

Disgusted with the unintentional amount of tenderness in her voice, Sakura almost missed Deidara's immediate reply of: "I'm not worried about you!" Frowning, he added quickly, "It'll be safer if it's just me, yeah. The whole city's looking for us; it'll be easier to blend one stranger into a crowded street than two. Besides, they're looking for two people, not one. If I go alone, it's less suspicious."

"For all we know, they could think I'm dead," she argued, as the thought of being left alone became increasingly unappealing, "It's no less safe in that respect if you go alone."

"Still, do you want to take that chance, yeah?" Deidara raked a hand through his blond hair before continuing, "Look, if it makes you feel any better, I'll seal this place up with explosives like last night. You'll be fine."

Sakura knew that it all made perfect sense for her to stay behind, but she didn't want to be alone in the apartment, waiting for either Deidara to come back or for enemy ninja to find her. It wasn't that she felt safer with him, she thought as Inner Sakura laughed at her for being so pathetic; it was simply that she was in a strange place and he was the only person she knew. As difficult as it was to admit, being with him was comforting. "If they find me here, those explosives will only keep them out for so long. I can fight, but not at my usual level. Let me come with you; we'll bring everything with us, and as soon as we get some food, we can leave. We won't need to take the chance of coming back to this place."

Considering this for a moment, Deidara made up his mind but didn't look pleased. "Alright. Let's get all our stuff together and head out. We've wasted enough time arguing already, yeah."

Afraid that the wave of relief that hit her would be visible on her face, Sakura bent down gingerly, taking care not to strain her injuries, to fasten her sandals. Deidara watched her from the corner of his eye as he moved to repack their supplies.

Slipping on the heavy backpack and refusing Sakura's suggestion that she take some of their things, Deidara opened the door cautiously and looked down into the hall. Sakura closed the apartment door lightly behind her and followed Deidara down the emergency stairs that led outside. As they stepped into the cold morning air, she almost regretted not having stayed behind with the warm quilt on the bed to curl up in. The frost on the ground bit at her toes, and her breath left little clouds in the air. Wriggling her toes to keep the blood flowing, she decided that her first purchase after they'd had breakfast would be a proper pair of shoes.

The streets were packed with people examining shop fronts and market stalls. Afraid that they would be separated, Sakura looped an arm around one of Deidara's and held on tight. Glancing up at him, she saw that his face betrayed no signs of uneasiness. He looked like any other early morning shopper going out to the market. As she was pressed up against him in the crowded streets, however, she felt him tense and alert.

A few times, passersby bumped too strongly into her, sending shocks up through her injuries. She hissed in pain but did nothing; using chakra to heal herself out in the open could be detected by nearby ninja. Realizing what was happening, Deidara removed his arm from Sakura's grasp and placed it instead around her shoulders, drawing her closer. Sakura tensed at the contact, but forced herself to relax. It was the sort of position that Ino would have giggled over, but it kept them together as they navigated the city. Not to mention, Sakura thought guiltily as she huddled against him, he was nice and warm.

Weaving their way through the crowd, Deidara gradually wandered towards the shops at one side. If she hadn't been watching him so carefully, she never would have seen him pocket some little round fruits that were placed conveniently at the edge of a stand. Sakura grimaced; she'd forgotten to remind him not to do that. Sending mental apologies to the vendor, Sakura nonetheless gratefully accepted the stolen food that Deidara pressed into her hand.

Deidara continued this through a busy square, as Sakura felt increasingly guilty. It wasn't as though she had never stolen before, but since they had money now, she'd much prefer being honest and paying. As they turned onto a side street, Sakura elbowed Deidara lightly in the ribs, grabbing his attention. She didn't dare tell him off for stealing in such a crowded place where they could be overheard, but she gave him a frown that she hoped would communicate her thoughts. In response, Deidara held her gaze, smirked, and bit into an apple with exaggerated enjoyment.

Sighing, she couldn't help but remark, "Sometimes you can be so --"

The rest of her comment was cut off as Deidara's hand clapped over her mouth and he dragged her into a nearby alley, pressing them both against the wall. She clamped down on her initial reaction to struggle and escape; by now she trusted him enough to know that he wouldn't do this without a good reason. Wishing that her heart would stop pounding so hard in her ears, she masked her chakra and concentrated.

"Ninja," Deidara whispered into her ear, just as Sakura picked up on the faint signs of nearby chakra.

He kept them tight against the wall, his hand still covering her mouth. Sakura fumed silently over this; she was perfectly capable of keeping her mouth shut on her own. The thought of the mouths in his hands made her want to squirm, but the harder she tried not to think of them, the more she did. _Mouths mouths mouths_, chanted her inner voice as Sakura came to a new realization and, cursing her fair complexion, felt yet another blush creep into her cheeks.

When the source of chakra had faded into the distance, Deidara loosened his hold on her. Before he could say anything, she wrenched herself away from his grasp and rounded on him, embarrassed and infuriated.

"_Stop doing that!_" she hissed.

Startled by her outburst and completely unaware of what the problem was, Deidara stared wide-eyed at his travel partner; if anything, she should be _happy_ they'd just avoided a fight. "Stop doing what?"

"What you just did! Putting your hand over my mouth! I can be quiet on my own, you know! And you shouldn't do it because…" Sakura's face was now well past the shade of her hair, and her next words came out rushed and mumbled, "Because it's… likeaweirdsortofkiss _AND THAT'S REALLY GROSS!_"

As the meaning of her garbled phrase became clear, Deidara's usual infuriating smirk appeared on his face and he raised an eyebrow at her. Suddenly, Sakura found that she couldn't meet his eyes. Stupid girl, she yelled to herself, you're only making things worse! Better to have let it be and saved yourself the embarrassm --

Her thoughts were cut off abruptly as Deidara snaked an arm around her waist, pulling her close. Caught off guard, the first thing that came to mind was that he seemed so much taller than usual when she was held like this. Before she could form the words to ask what he was doing, he placed a hand under her chin, drawing her face up towards his, and kissed her.

As Inner Sakura was mercifully stunned into silence, a thousand thoughts flew through her head. As far as kisses went, it was surprisingly chaste and not at all unpleasant; but it was still wrong. It was wrong because you didn't kiss a former enemy in a dark back alley, surrounded by grimy brick walls and a few piles of rubbish, even if the snow had started to fall prettily around them. It was wrong because it was _Deidara_, with his girly blond hair and his maddening smirk, and half the time she wanted to strangle him. It was wrong because he was the only person she knew this far out in nowhere, and she couldn't deal with the unwanted thoughts and difficult emotions that the kiss was sending her.

As Sakura was still too shocked to move, Deidara broke the kiss and moved back, placing a hand on her shoulder to keep her steady. "There," he said, as everything from the way he stood to the way he grinned seemed to be laughing at her, "We won't have to worry about that problem anymore, yeah."

For the second time that week, Sakura's fist connected with his jaw.

She watched him stumble back, a hand going up to clutch the side of his face. As he swore masterfully, Sakura wanted to scream, cry, and hit him again. It had been by no means her first kiss, but all the same, she wasn't the sort of girl who took them lightly. Kisses were supposed to be with boyfriends you really cared about, dates that were going surprisingly well, or sometimes with that guy at the bar who looked progressively better as the night went on and the next morning you could blame it on the alcohol. It wasn't right to kiss someone just to tease them for saying something silly.

Worst of all, she admitted, she was afraid that this would change something. The dynamics between them weren't perfect, but they _worked_. She knew they both recognized the balance they'd settled into: they argued and fought, they had small moments of comfort and being human that they needed to get through this mess, and then they argued and fought some more. Sakura didn't think too much about him being Akatsuki, and he didn't bring up her having killed his former partner. He hadn't seen anything when he'd bandaged her up, and she didn't like the warm blue of his eyes. She didn't want anything to change between them; she couldn't handle anything else.

With one hand still against his face, Deidara ground out through his teeth, "Can't you just slap like normal women, yeah?"

The tone of his voice and the way he glared at her were all so familiar that Sakura's thoughts vanished instantly; there was nothing different with Deidara. She held his gaze, suspecting that he understood what had truly upset her.

He was the first to look away. "Ow," he complained and poked lightly at the side of his face that had taken the blow. Sakura hesitated, still bothered by what had happened, but grinned slowly at the sight of the already-forming bruise.

"I won't heal you if you're going to be such a pussy about it." Her voice was miraculously light and steady. "Come on, we've got to get out of this city before they find us."

What was done was done, Sakura sighed to herself as they slipped back among the people in the main streets. Unsure if she should hold onto his arm as she had done previously, she kept her distance from him.

Only a few steps into the crowd, he grabbed her wrist, tugging her close beside him. "What are you doing, yeah? We're going to get separated if you aren't careful."

Sakura smiled, reassured. Surely, if they could pretend that they didn't have a million reasons to kill each other, they could pretend that one little kiss couldn't change anything. There was nothing more she could do than see where this led.


	9. Chapter 9

**Title:** Somewhere I Have Never Travelled, Gladly Beyond  
**Fandom:** Naruto  
**Type:** Multi-chaptered  
**Rating:** Pg-13  
**Pairings:** Deidara/Sakura  
**Word count:** 5,557  
**Summary:** Naruto had been bragging all day that his new jutsu was his best yet. Sakura and her new situation beg to differ. Post time-skip. DeiSaku. 

**A/N:** Yet again, real life took priority.

* * *

"This is possibly the best and worst idea that you have ever had," said Sakura through a mouthful of pie.

Sitting on the cold ground, her back against the brick wall of an old building, she was glad for both the food and the rest. After stealing their breakfast from the city market that morning and the events in the alley that she was trying hard not to think about, she and Deidara had continued east towards the next town. Following their map, which was by now missing a corner and partially unreadable where bloodstains had obscured the ink, they had managed to find a small, rundown industrial town. By the time they had arrived, the afternoon sun was already fading. Hungry and tired, they'd first passed through a grouping of poorly-kept houses on the outskirts, dodging from shadow to shadow to avoid being seen.

Reflecting on the events that followed, a now pleasantly full Sakura decided that perhaps Deidara's idea wasn't as bad as it had first appeared.

"You want to steal a _pie_ off a _windowsill_?" Sakura had asked incredulously as they paused behind a shed next to a house, from which an inviting smell was drifting from an open kitchen window. "That is so, so…"

As Sakura had searched for the right words, Deidara had volunteered his own with a grin, "So what? So evil? So cliché? You seem to forget that I work for an organization that wants to take over the world, yeah."

Now huddled against her traveling partner, sharing their stolen pastry, Sakura concluded that sometimes it paid to have flexible morals. Her conscience wasn't happy with her, but her stomach certainly was. Sitting next to Deidara, their shoulders pressed tight against each other to help fend off the evening chill, they ate with their hands, letting their faces and clothes get stained as though they were children.

Licking the last of the pie filling from her fingers and letting her mind wander, Sakura felt the twinges of unease that she had fought against during the day. It had been less trouble to keep them down as she had leapt from tree to tree, constantly alert to detect the presence of enemies. They'd taken breaks only when they'd absolutely needed too, and stayed in one place just long enough to catch their breath and for Sakura to continue her healing. Unwanted thoughts came easier now that they could take time for a proper rest. In the darkened alley where they sat, Sakura couldn't help but replay the kiss from that morning over and over in her mind. It didn't help that this alley was so similar to the one in which those events had occurred. Swallowing nervously, she tried to ignore her surroundings.

She knew that it hadn't meant anything to him; it had only been another one of his ways to annoy her. There had been no hidden motivations or feelings behind it. It had been like any other banter between them, only he'd replied with an action rather than words. Deidara one, Sakura zero, she sighed mentally, wishing that she could think of some way to get back at him and then move on from the whole situation. _Another kiss might work_, suggested Inner Sakura maliciously.

Shushing her inner voice while feeling increasingly awkward, Sakura became painfully aware of how close she was to Deidara. The warmth they shared while huddled together was welcome, but with him on one side of her and the tall brick walls of the alley that seemed to box her in, she began to feel trapped. To quell her mounting panic and dissuade her heart from running a marathon in her chest, she glanced over at Deidara in hopes of persuading herself that there was no reason to feel uncomfortable; nothing would change between them if she could just get over her own unease, and he wouldn't kiss her again.

Afraid that he might have sensed the tension running through her, she was at least relieved to note that he showed no signs of having noticed. As he tried unsuccessfully to clean his sticky hands on the fabric of his shirt, he seemed completely unaware of the problems he was causing her.

"See what works of genius occur when you aren't so morally uptight, yeah?" he said cheerfully, in a good mood after the meal and pleased that his idea had turned out so well.

Eager for a conversation to distract her and feeling that it was her duty to defend herself, albeit halfheartedly, Sakura replied, "I would at least feel better if we'd left some money in exchange. We've got so much of it now, there's no need to be stingy."

Giving up on trying to clean the remains of the pie from his hands, he turned his head to face her, giving her a grin. "What kind of an S-rank criminal would I be then, yeah? Doing something honest like that would ruin my reputation."

Between the closeness of his face to hers and his clear blue eyes that unsettled her emotions, Sakura wanted to look away. She was no coward though, and she held his gaze; it wouldn't do, either, to have him suspect she was still bothered by the events of the morning.

As they looked at each other, their faces at a proximity that was rare for them, Sakura couldn't help but notice his features. His eyes were a warm shade of blue, rather than icy like Ino's, and his nose was almost perfectly straight, oddly well-formed and aesthetic for that of a man. Glancing quickly down at his mouth, she even noticed that his smile was very slightly crooked -- something that she thought suited him well and was so very _Deidara_.

He was still smiling while waiting for her to say something to his earlier comment, although his expression had faltered for a moment when Sakura had glanced down at his mouth. Sakura smiled too, but not as a response; he had a smudge of pie across one side of his face that he didn't know about.

Unable to contain it any longer, her cheeks starting to hurt from her grin, she told him, "You've got pie on your face."

He blinked at her, a hand going up to wipe his face, before he smiled even harder and said, "So do you, yeah."

It was exactly what she needed to break her mounting tension. The first laugh hurt, as all of the stress and anxiety that had built up during the time after that morning had formed a heavy, tangled feeling in her chest. Drawing in a deep breath of air, she broke past the knot and let all of her apprehension be swept away through her giggles. The effect of the catharsis left her with tears in her eyes, which she hastily blinked away before Deidara could see them.

Finally managing to calm herself, Sakura felt along one of her cheeks, trying to brush away the food that was apparently there. Deidara shook his head, still grinning wide, with his face now clean from the remains of their dinner. "No, it's on the other side."

Bringing up an arm, he wiped away the purple stain from her face with an overly long sleeve. Sakura froze. His movement brought him too close, their faces just inches away from each other, and all of her previous thoughts rushed back to her. He must have noticed her reaction, because she heard his breathing hitch and, withdrawing his hand, he stood up quickly.

Brushing the dirt from his pants, he picked up their backpack, not meeting her eyes. "We should find shelter for the night, yeah. It'll be too cold to camp outside with what few supplies we have."

He was already walking out from the alley as Sakura stood up to follow him. She placed a hand over her heart, as though that would help calm its racing. Catching up to him, they fell into step as they turned onto a main street. Feeling safer in the darkness of the evening and reassured that without the presence of frost they would leave no footsteps, Sakura was at least fairly certain they'd have no trouble from any ninja still following them.

She was, however, not looking forward to spending the night so close to Deidara. The air between them was thick with too much that was confused and unspoken as they searched for a place to stay. Sakura was sure she'd be too edgy to sleep if they had to share another bed.

Eager to both ease the awkwardness between them and ensure that they wouldn't wind up in a double bed again, she broke the silence as they passed by a shabby hotel. "We shouldn't stay anywhere with other people. An innkeeper would report us to the authorities if the news of the break-in has been made public." Filthy and unable to speak the local language, Sakura knew they definitely counted as suspicious characters.

"I know, yeah," Deidara replied quietly, still not looking at her, "And we can't…" He paused, choosing his words carefully, "We can't 'forcibly evict' any owners like I did before - we don't want to leave behind a trace."

Sakura nodded in agreement. Slightly disappointed that she wouldn't be able to take a badly needed shower, she nonetheless recognized that it would be much safer to spend the night in someone's tool shed. Frowning, she realized that a tool shed was still too small and enclosed to be alone with Deidara. She wanted nothing more than to run off on her own, away from him, and scream and punch and yell until all of her frustrations were vented and she could forget everything that had happened that morning.

Severing those thoughts and forcing herself to focus, she tried to remember anything useful that she'd seen around the town. The answer came quickly to her, even if it wasn't entirely appealing.

"Hey, since this place is mostly industrial, why don't we just camp out in a factory tonight?" she suggested, "Everyone will have gone home by now, and we'll make sure to leave early in the morning."

Deidara grimaced at the thought of spending the night on a hard floor, mirroring Sakura's own reservations, but agreed, "It's probably the best we can do, yeah. We can find something better in the next town, once we've put more distance between us and the city."

They made their way towards an area they'd passed earlier, filled with promising metal buildings, in increasingly strained silence. Sakura hardly even dared to breathe; the only sounds around them were their soft footsteps and her own pulse.

Relieved when they finally arrived, she helped Deidara look for an open window in the complexes. Finding one, Sakura managed to slide through it with the help of a leg-up from Deidara. Landing lightly on the floor below, she took in her surroundings.

It was clearly some sort of warehouse. Shelves were stacked high with various metal pieces, and there were a few forklifts nearby. The whole place was in a fairly sorry state, with the floors stained and old cardboard boxes strewn about at random.

Deidara landed beside her, having slipped through the window after her. He sighed, but seemed resigned to spending the night on the dirty floors. "Let's go find ourselves the softest looking corner."

'The softest looking corner' turned out to be one that was mostly free from puddles of oil and grease. As Deidara set explosive traps around them just in case, Sakura sent as much chakra as she could into her injuries that remained. They were mostly healed and would probably be fine to mend on their own, but her mind and emotions were still in a state of turmoil and she knew that she needed that extra bit of exhaustion in order to sleep.

Deidara finished his work as the glow of Sakura's medical chakra faded. "We should be safe to sleep, yeah," he said as he lay down on a relatively clean area of concrete, "We can't risk a fire though -- the light or smoke might be seen from outside."

The effects of using her chakra weighed heavily on her already tired body, and Sakura yawned before replying, "That's fine. I'm so tired anyways I don't think I'll notice the cold." She gave Deidara a small, feeble smile, and stretched herself out on the concrete, closing her eyes and trying to forget the events of the day. "Good night."

"Good night," he replied softly, and as her mind turned itself over to sleep, she heard him shifting restlessly in futile attempts to make himself more comfortable on the hard, cold floor.

* * *

As Sakura's breathing became deep and steady, Deidara opened one eye cautiously. Satisfied that she was finally asleep, he sat up quietly, seating himself cross-legged, back resting against the warehouse wall. Even after the long day of travel, his mind was doing too many acrobatics for him to sleep properly.

The Akatsuki's leader had always criticized him for not thinking his plans through entirely, and Deidara was finally forced to agree with him. _What_ had he been thinking when he'd kissed Sakura? It had seemed like such a good idea at the time; a great way to tease her and get a rise out of her. It had worked in that respect, but it had backfired in more ways than made it worthwhile.

He'd known it was a bad idea the second his lips had touched hers. All of the nagging emotions he'd felt during their journey struck him with their full force. A multitude of little moments had flooded back to him as he'd held her pressed against him in the alley: the self-satisfied grins she wore when she won an argument, her deliriously pleased expression as she lay half-dead just before she'd punched him, the touch of her chakra-laden fingers against injuries, the feeling of her hand against his face in the dark... He'd come to the sudden realization that that small, innocent kiss had the potential to change so much, and he'd known instantly that he was in trouble.

What confused him, however, was why _she_ was still bothered by what had happened.

His own feelings were easy enough to give a name to, but it unnerved him that she was so affected as well. The rest of the day had been agonizingly awkward; he'd tried his best to maintain some semblance of normality, but she'd failed miserably with her blushes and the way her whole body froze any time he got too near. It was humiliating to think that the kiss had really been so awful. Deidara grimaced, nearing as close to ashamed as he would ever get. He wished she could just forget it had happened; it might help him forget as well.

It's not like it was her first kiss either, he thought, still puzzled at her reactions. Freezing, he had a sudden, terrifying thought: what if it _had_ been her first kiss? But that was impossible, he told himself, crushing most of his doubts; she was too pretty for that to be true.

He groaned and put his head in his hands. Ever since they'd started their crazy adventure, he'd been trying to keep that thought from his head. It was undeniable though: she _was_ pretty. He chanced a quick glance over at Sakura's sleeping form. Even with her skin pale and smudged with dirt, the dark circles under her eyes undiminished as she slept, and her hair dull and unwashed, she was still more attractive to him than he would like to admit.

This was precisely why he had to get away from living as a fugitive, he thought bitterly, disgusted with himself for such thoughts; he'd clearly been around too few women if he was admiring the waif-ish and filthy medic-nin.

Ordinarily, he wasn't skittish about admitting attraction. It was true, what Sakura had said a few days earlier: the bloodline limit affecting his hands didn't make him terribly popular with women. But if he managed to keep the extra mouths concealed, he usually didn't have any problems. This whole situation with Sakura, however, was far from usual or ordinary. For starters, after all that they'd been through, she'd gained his grudging respect.

She wasn't catty like many other women he'd met, and she didn't have the annoying habit of expecting special treatment just because she was a woman. She had her own opinions and would argue with him whenever she saw fit. He could see now that she was indeed the Hokage's apprentice; she could more than hold her own in any fight and her healing abilities were, to say the least, impressive. She had her ups and downs, her good qualities and her bad, but in the end, she was just _Sakura_ -- Deidara didn't know how else to define her.

Sighing, frustrated with himself and the situation he'd caused, he lay back down on the uncomfortable floor. Closing his eyes and trying to pry his mind away from the kunoichi lying next to him, he wasn't sure he'd be able to sleep.

* * *

When Sakura awoke the next morning, she felt slightly better and less emotionally confused. It was a new day and she felt that she could put certain recent, troubling events behind her. Physically, however… Her shoulder and hip that had been pressed against the floor were stiff and sore, so she sent a little jolt of chakra to relieve them. Pressing a hand against her abdomen, she was glad to feel that her previous injuries were mostly healed. Beside her, Deidara propped himself up on an elbow and turned his head away from the rays of early morning light that streamed in through a nearby window. His hair was in complete disarray and the dark circles under his eyes were worse than ever. He looked as though he had barely slept.

"Hard floor didn't agree with you?" she teased, but decided to soften her comment as he gave her a grumpy glare, "Don't worry, my vote goes towards a hotel tonight too."

"I agree, yeah," he said, his voice scratchy, "At this point, I don't even care if enemy ninja find us, as long as I've had a shower and can sleep on a mattress."

Sakura nodded, standing up and beginning a set of stretches. "No kidding. Even if it's an uneven, lumpy, and smelly old mattress, I'd still take it."

Moving to clear away the explosives he'd set around them, Deidara took this almost as a challenge. "_I'd_ even take bedbugs, yeah."

Sakura wrinkled her nose at the thought. "We're so dirty anyway, I don't think we'd need to worry about _any_ sort of creature wanting to come near us."

They both grinned widely at each other, and Sakura had a fleeting moment of reassurance; she was _so_ over what had happened yesterday.

This false sense of confidence, however, was quick to be destroyed. After stretching out their stiff muscles and ensuring that they'd left no traces where they'd slept, they both reached for the backpack at the same time. Deidara's hand landed over hers on one of the straps and Sakura felt her face flush as all of her awkward emotions rushed back.

They both froze for an instant, unable to look each other in the eyes. Breathe caught in her throat, Sakura felt an uncomfortable knot settle in her stomach.

Deidara recovered first, snatching the pack off the ground and swinging it onto his shoulders. "Let's not waste time, yeah," he mumbled, already walking away from her.

Taking a deep, steadying breath, she followed behind him. They left from the window they'd come in the night before and made their way in silence through the town's streets, still deserted in the early hours of the morning.

When they came to the edge of the town, Sakura forced down her discomfort and asked, "Where are we headed next?"

Quickening his pace and not bothering to look at her, he replied shortly, "We keep moving east until we find another town, yeah. We're still too close to the main city."

Sakura bit her lip to hold back a sigh as a feeling of dismay settled over her. More travel, more unresolved awkwardness. She had hoped that a night of sleep would help ease the tensions between them, but if anything, their interaction had become even more strained than the day before. Deidara's neutral expression revealed nothing of his thoughts, but Sakura could tell he felt as uncomfortable as she did. Fighting back the urge to scream in frustration, she took a deep breath, squared her shoulders, and pushed away all thoughts of her travel partner as they made their way out of town.

* * *

The sun was barely visible through the thick canopy of trees, but Sakura guessed it was already about midday. After leaving the town, they'd continued to head east, keeping to forested areas that offered better cover.

Deidara had said nothing during the entire journey, keeping his eyes focused ahead and concentrating on their route as he leapt from tree to tree. Sakura was perfectly content not to hear his irritating comments or encourage further awkwardness between them, but the monotony of the forest whizzing past was starting to grate on her. As much as she hated to admit it, she could use a break and a conversation – or argument, more likely – to ease the boredom.

Swallowing, she gathered her courage to break the silence between them. "Deidara?"

Startled at the sudden sound of her voice but not breaking his pace, he glanced over at her. "Yeah?"

"Let's stop for a moment."

"Hhmm? Tired already?" He smirked mockingly, but slowed his pace and allowed her to lead him down towards the ground.

Dropping down onto the forest floor, frosty grass crunching beneath her feet, she glared at him as she began to stretch out the muscles in her legs. "Don't tell me you weren't getting bored too – we've been traveling for hours. How far away do you think the next town is, anyway?"

Taking off the backpack and rolling the tension out of his shoulders, Deidara replied, "Should be there soon, yeah, from what I can tell."

Sakura frowned – 'soon' wasn't a good enough answer. Taking a few steps forward, she knelt down and unzipped the front compartment of the pack. "Let's take a look at the map," she suggested as she pulled out the tattered piece of paper and settled herself on the ground, ignoring the cold.

As she unfolded it, Deidara sat down beside her; Sakura wished all sorts of curses on her traitorous body as her heart thudded annoyingly loud and the hairs on her arms rose. Forcing herself to stare at the map in what she hoped would pass as concentration, she asked, "Where are we now?"

Deidara reached over and tapped a section on the far right. "We should be somewhere around here, yeah." Pointing to an area marked as a town, he continued, "This is where we came from, and this…" -- Sakura clamped down on an involuntary shiver as he leaned in closer -- "This is where we should be heading, yeah."

Willing herself to focus, she studied the area that Deidara had indicated. Although partially obscured by a smudge of dirt, it was drawn about the same size as the town they'd just come from. It looked like any other location on the map, but there was one thing that worried her. Looking up at Deidara and trying to keep the concern from her voice, she asked, "What will we do when we pass this next town? We're at the edge of the map – we won't know where we're going."

He met her gaze and Sakura resisted the urge to look away. "We'll figure something out, yeah," he said softly.

As they held each other's gaze for a moment more than necessary, a cold wind blew by making Sakura shiver; the sweat she'd worked up during their journey made it feel infinitely colder.

Noticing her reaction, Deidara took the map from her and stood up. "Let's go. No sense standing around, yeah."

Stuffing the map carelessly into a pocket, he picked up their bag and swung it over a shoulder before making a chakra-enhanced jump up into the trees. Dismayed by his haste, Sakura nonetheless stood up and gave her legs one final quick stretch before following him.

As she caught up with Deidara and fell into a comfortable pace leaping from branch to branch, she bit back a sigh; although the air was thick with tension between them, Sakura was unwilling to end conversation. She had as much carefully trained mental fortitude as any ninja, but the few minutes she'd had to rest did little to break the monotony of the day's long hours of travel.

As her mind began to wander, her movements from tree to tree became automatic. Her earlier boredom kicking in again, Sakura swore that she'd see leaves and branches flying by even if she closed her eyes.

With her mind on other things, Sakura barely noticed when she landed on a rotten branch. The sudden snap as it broke brought her back to reality and she quickly threw her weight forwards. Luckily landing on another nearby branch with only a slight stumble, she continued to jump as though nothing had happened. Praying that her slip up hadn't been noticed, she chanced a glance over at Deidara, only to be met with his taunting gaze.

"Can't keep up, yeah?" he said with his trademark smirk.

Sakura made a face at him in return, willing herself not to be embarrassed. At least, she thought, slightly relieved, there was no malice in Deidara's expression. By now she was almost used to his habitual taunting. It was exactly what he'd always done, before those disastrous events in the alley had upset everything between them. With a sudden wave of nostalgia for their old dynamic, Sakura grasped at the first idea for conversation she could find.

"Why do you say that all the time?" she asked suddenly.

"Say what?" he asked, confused by her sudden question.

Feeling her cheeks colour as she realized that her question was completely out of the blue, she explained, "Why do you add 'yeah' to the end of your sentences?"

He shrugged and refocused his attention on the forest ahead of him. "It's just the way I talk, yeah."

Sakura flicked her gaze over to him for a minute, suspecting that he'd added the last word just to tease her, but his expression was earnest. When he didn't offer any further explanation, she pressed on. "So, it's just a personal quirk?"

"Mmm… It's more like a dialect." Pausing for a moment, he glanced over at Sakura. Realizing that she was staring at him expectantly, he hesitated before continuing, "You know I'm from the Northern Countries, yeah? This is just… the way we talk."

Unable to help herself, Sakura's imagination presented her with an image of a whole town full of Deidaras. She kicked the images out of her mind quickly before she risked going insane. Letting out a soft laugh at her thoughts, she told him frankly, "I think hearing that all the time would drive me absolutely mad."

He raised an eyebrow at her. "What do you mean, yeah? I'd say it's better than you southerners always adding 'like' to your sentences."

"We don't do that!" Sakura replied indignantly.

"Yes, you do. And speaking of going mad, if we didn't get blown out here to nowhere, I think I would've developed a twitch by now if I had to keep listening to that. Like like like like like… You have no idea how annoying it is, yeah."

Opening her mouth to contradict him, Sakura stopped suddenly as thoughts of Ino rushed to her head. And of the admittedly quite annoying academy students. And of, embarrassingly, some jounin.

"Okay, okay… You have a point," she conceded.

"Yeah, I do," he said, sounding smug.

Feeling that she should at least offer a bit more resistance, Sakura added, "But hey, at least _I _don't do that."

Deidara gave her an infuriatingly patronizing smile. "Mmhmm."

Knowing she was free from any poor linguistic habits, she wasn't too bothered by his taunts. Just play along with it, she decided. He was teasing her just like he used to. Sakura fought back a smile and hoped that her expression looked convincingly offended. "What? Hey! I _don't_!"

"Are you, _like_, sure about that, yeah?"

"Oh shut _up_."

* * *

They arrived at their destination in the evening, just as the sun was beginning to set. The town was in much better shape than the previous one; clean cobblestone streets and shops still busy with customers

It wasn't long before Sakura's gaze fell upon a welcome sight. Grabbing Deidara by the arm, she dragged him into the first hotel she saw. Judging by the sparkling white floor tiles and the dark wooden furniture in the lobby, it was fairly upscale. Inner Sakura rejoiced over thoughts of feather pillows and a whirlpool bathtub.

Making a beeline for the receptionist, Sakura dove a hand into the backpack Deidara was carrying and withdrew a fistful of gold coins. The man's eyes widened in disbelief before quickly swapping the coins for a key. Belatedly, Sakura realized she'd probably given him an absurdly large tip, but found that she didn't actually care very much when a shower and sleep were so near.

As they stepped into the elevator, Sakura looked at the keys in her hands wearily and realized with dismay that they'd undoubtedly wound up with a double bed again.

Pressing the button for their floor, Deidara cheerfully mirrored her thoughts out loud. "There's probably only going to be one bed, yeah."

She knew he was right, but narrowed her eyes at him nonetheless. "You sound pleased."

"Oh I _am_," he replied with an obnoxious wink.

Sakura shook her head, unable to keep a grin from her face. Forgetting about their previous awkwardness was easier when they were both in a good mood from thoughts of a warm bed and a shower.

As they stepped out of the elevator, Deidara smirked to himself and hit the buttons for all the floors. Sakura could hardly believe it. "How old _are _you?"

Deidara's reply was cut short by the sound of shattering glass. Adrenaline spiking, Sakura threw herself flat against the wall and barely missed being hit by a flurry of kunai. At the end of the hallway, a ninja crouched low against the floor, speaking quickly into a radio.

"Hit him quick, yeah," Deidara yelled, explosives forming in his hands, "He's calling for backup!"

Blood pounding in her ears, Sakura grabbed a kunai from the pouch around her waist and sent it flying towards the enemy. Knocking it aside with the back of his hand, the ninja stood and formed a set of seals. As Sakura swore and began to focus her chakra into her fists, Deidara threw a handful of clay birds. Shielding her face against the explosion, Sakura felt the heat and flames surge uncomfortably near.

Eyes watering from the smoke, she tried to refocus on the enemy. Spotting what was left of him, she looked away, thankful that she hadn't eaten anything lately.

As Sakura regained her breath, senses still alert for any other sudden attacks, Deidara turned towards her and said, "Twenty."

Sakura looked at him quizzically. They had just escaped a near-death experience and now he was spouting random numbers? Maybe her reformed opinion of him was wrong; he _was_ completely crazy.

Seeing her expression, he elaborated. "It's _my age_, idiot. You asked before, remember?"

So she had… She'd forgotten – but that didn't give him an excuse to call her an idiot. She reached over and pinched him.

"OW! Fuck! Well I guess I don't need to ask how old _you_ are! Can't be more than goddamned _twelve_, yeah!"

"I'm eighteen, you moron," she informed him, rolling her eyes.

"Oh? _Legal_, eh?" He gave her an exaggeratedly lascivious grin.

She punched him playfully in the arm before moving to kick away some of the broken glass along the window, avoiding the remains of the enemy ninja. As much as she felt guilty for leaving the owners with the bill for the damage, Sakura didn't want to risk waiting around for more ninja to show up. Her heart sinking, she bid farewell to the tempting thought of rest. "Let's get moving. We have to shake them off our trail again."

Climbing from the window onto a nearby roof, Sakura lamented their situation. Maybe in the next town she'd actually get a chance to relax.

Hearing Deidara land lightly beside her, Sakura remarked, "I _still_ vote for finding a hotel in the next place we end up." She sighed softly and thought aloud, "I was so looking forward to taking a bath."

"I was looking forward to that too, yeah." Sakura felt the beginnings of a smile at his sympathy before Deidara's expression turned mockingly wishful. "You're really starting to smell."

Sakura squeezed her eyes shut in frustration as they leapt carefully across rooftops. It was going to be a long night.


	10. Chapter 10

**Title:** Somewhere I Have Never Travelled, Gladly Beyond  
**Fandom:** Naruto  
**Type:** Multi-chaptered  
**Rating:** Pg-13  
**Pairings:** Deidara/Sakura  
**Word count:** 4,352  
**Summary:** Naruto had been bragging all day that his new jutsu was his best yet. Sakura and her new situation beg to differ. Post time-skip. DeiSaku.

**A/N:** Thanks to all reviewers! Also a big thanks to Kamden for the lovely fanart, which gave lots of motivation -- you can all go see it on her Deviant Art page. Happy New Year!

* * *

"I need some coffee, yeah. I hate the taste of it, but I need it so bad."

Although Deidara's gaze was fixed on the forest ahead of them, Sakura couldn't help but nod weakly in agreement. They'd been running for hours after the ambush at the hotel, hoping that the cover of night would be enough to shield them from pursuit. Sakura knew their survival now hung purely on luck. After almost a full day of travel and no food, she doubted they'd be able to make a stand if their pursuers caught up to them.

"I would even be willing to drink it black, yeah. Black and disgusting, just like how Tobi makes it." Deidara's pace was unrelenting and his words were light, but Sakura could hear in his voice that he was reaching his limits.

"Now who can't keep up, hmm?" she teased her travel partner half-heartedly, as every ounce of her strength went towards matching the speed of his jumps and cursing his long legs.

"_Really_ not in the mood for your comments right now, yeah."

Hearing his exhaustion in every syllable, she glanced over at him from the corner of her eye. She was tired, yes, but Deidara was something else entirely. Taking in his bloodshot eyes and occasional stumbles, Sakura voiced a nagging suspicion. "You didn't sleep very much last night, did you?"

"I see the perceptive skills of Konoha ninja are unmatched," he grumbled, blinking hard to keep himself awake and focused.

Already in a bad mood from the trials of the day, Deidara's sarcasm was quick to grate on Sakura's nerves. "You've got to take better care of yourself, you know," she admonished, "Just because you've got a medic-nin with you doesn't mean you can get away with anything."

"Well _excuse me_ for not finding a concrete floor the most ideal camping spot – which, by the way, was _entirely_ your idea, yeah."

She ground her teeth in frustration and remarked, "Oh, so I guess they give all of you Akatsuki princesses feather beds on missions, do they?"

Deidara glared hard at her. "You should be _thanking_ me for staying up, yeah. It's called keeping watch – which is a bit more useful than your sprawling out and snoring."

"I do _not_ snore! And it's not like I asked you to stand watch or anything. _Your_ explosives were supposed to keep us safe."

"_My_ explosives, yeah? And what did _you_ contribute to our defenses?"

Sakura's reply and her rising temper were both cut off by a sudden, familiar feeling. It was only a tiny spike of nearby chakra, but its presence and what it meant was undeniable. Meeting Deidara's eyes, she voiced both of their thoughts, "Shit."

"Goddamned perfect timing, yeah," Deidara growled, cursing softly.

Praying for her exhausted body not to give out on her just yet, Sakura pushed more energy into her legs, boosting her speed. Her breathing quickened and she could feel her heart pounding, but she wasn't sure whether it was due to exertion or the beginnings of panic. Beside her, Deidara began to fall behind. As his breathing became ragged, he said, "We can't keep this up, yeah. They know the territory better than we do and we aren't in any shape to outrun them."

Sakura bit back a retort that _she_ could keep this up just fine and that anything else was his problem. This was no time for childish and spiteful remarks, no matter how tired and irritable she was. The ache of her muscles told her that he was right anyway. Eyes scanning the ground below them, she came up with their only other option. "Let's find a place to hide."

From a quick glance down, it was clear that the forest floor had little in the way of cover. Trying not to panic, Sakura hopped down anyway to have a closer look. Since it was winter, the bushes were bare and would provide no protection for them. The only remotely plausible option for a hiding place was a grouping of those strange green prickly trees. With no other choice, Sakura dove straight into the tangle of branches and spines. Ignoring the needles that stung her face, she pulled Deidara down beside her and concentrated on masking her presence.

Her nose was beginning to run from the cold night air and she could feel drops of blood inching their way down her face from the new scratches, but she didn't dare move to wipe them away. Deidara was pressed close beside her, tense and trying to steady his breathing. As the seconds ticked by in silence, Sakura almost dared to hope that their pursuers had lost their track.

When Deidara jerked suddenly, breaking the absolute stillness of the forest, Sakura almost jumped out of her skin. He swore under his breath and Sakura raised an eyebrow in silent question. "Half fell asleep," he admitted, his face flushing pink. Sakura could have laughed at him, but the mention of sleep made her have to stifle a yawn.

The sudden sound of approaching voices made her freeze, effectively destroying her budding hopes that they'd outrun their enemies. In that one moment, feeling her heart sinking, Sakura could have cried. She knew it was the ninja who had pursued them – there was no other reason for people to be so deep in the forest, and the feeling of chakra was unmistakable.

Hardly daring to breathe, Sakura watched as three ninja appeared from the trees. At least, she thought, trying hard to see a bright side to the situation, they were far enough away that their hiding place would shield them from view for now. The darkness of the night would also help hide them from the ninja, but Sakura knew there'd be trouble if they started snooping around.

"Where's the fourth one?" Deidara whispered urgently to her, tense and alert for a sudden attack. "Aren't teams always in fours, yeah?"

A wave of fear washed over her before the more rational side of her brain took over. If their circumstances weren't so dire, she would have teased him for being so twitchy when he was tired. "We killed the fourth," she explained, keeping her voice low. "At the hotel, remember?" All the better, she added to herself, dismayed – there was no motivation like revenge. The remaining ninja had yet another reason to be out for their blood.

Just when Sakura believed the situation couldn't get any worse, a team of four ninja landed in front of the other three. It struck her as odd that the new team arrived from the opposite direction of the first one, but Sakura's mind was too busy weeping and cursing fate to give it much thought. Biting her bottom lip nervously, she could think of nothing to do but observe.

Oddly enough, the ninja began to quarrel. Sakura blinked in disbelief, almost certain it must be a trick of her exhausted mind. Watching them for a moment, however, she couldn't see it as anything other than an argument. Both teams of ninja had their weapons drawn and were facing each other, their stances tense and hostile. The leaders of each group were gesturing and shouting at each other, but again in the language Sakura couldn't understand. The ninjas' actions were strange, although something about it struck her as familiar.

Just as puzzled as his travel partner, Deidara nonetheless wasted no time in taking advantage of the new developments. He peered carefully out from the trees before turning to Sakura. "Okay, while they're distracted, you go around one side and smash them to bits – I'll get the other side with explosives. If we're lucky we might be able to take them all out, yeah."

"Wait!" Sakura interrupted him, keeping a firm grip on his arm as her mind began to connect the dots. "Just watch for a minute."

What was happening resembled something she'd seen many times herself: a border patrol dispute. Both teams of ninja continued to yell at the other, brandishing their weapons threateningly. Squinting, Sakura was fairly certain that the ninjas' headbands didn't display the same symbols.

Newfound hope settling over her, she whispered urgently to Deidara, "Let's get out of here. Now. Quietly." Confusion was written all over his face, but there was no time to explain. Tugging on his arm, Sakura mouthed silently, "Trust me."

She was almost surprised when he obeyed without further question. Dismissing those thoughts, she refocused on the task at hand – they weren't out of danger yet. Calling on every lesson of stealth she'd ever learned, Sakura backed her way out of the group of trees, not daring to use any techniques in case the chakra was detected. Untangling herself from the branches as quietly as she could, she motioned for Deidara to follow her.

Stepping as softly as she could, Sakura hid herself behind the trunk of the nearest tree. Deidara pressed himself closely beside her, keeping them both hidden from view. The sound of the ninja arguing continued, and Sakura wished to all the powers she could think of that they wouldn't stop just yet. Taking hold of Deidara's wrist, she led them cautiously to behind the next tree, in the direction away from the enemies. Her heart beating far too loud, she continued this careful maneuver until they were far enough away that the ninjas' voices had faded. Sakura glanced behind her – no one appeared to have followed them.

Allowing herself the slightest feelings of relief, Sakura changed directions and tugged Deidara towards the east – the way the team of four ninja had appeared from. "I'll explain later," she whispered in response to Deidara's questioning glances. She still didn't dare believe they had actually escaped.

With Deidara's wrist still held in her grasp, oddly comforting, Sakura quickened her pace. Focused only on keeping her footfalls silent and detecting any pursuit, she lost track of how much time had passed. Eventually, Deidara broke the silence. "We've walked a long way, yeah," he said softly, still wary, "We should be safe to start running again."

Adrenaline mixed with exhaustion made her overly nervous, but Sakura agreed. "No chakra though, okay?" Deidara gave her a pained expression; running without the enhancement of chakra was much more tiring, and they were past their limits already. "I don't want to risk it," Sakura explained, half-pleading with him to understand.

Minutes after they started, Sakura wanted to take back what she'd said. Running without chakra _was_ difficult, and she was _so_ tired. Holding out as long as she could, Sakura was nonetheless thankful when she spotted a place to rest. "Let's stop here," she panted, slowing her pace.

The hideout she'd found was perfect: an old tree's gnarled roots were not fully in the ground, forming a small but functional makeshift shelter. Crawling into the hole formed by the tree and the earth, Sakura finally allowed her emotions to take hold of her. As Deidara crawled into the shelter with her, stuffing the backpack in with him, Sakura smiled at him until her face hurt. "We made it. We actually made it," she said giddily, half to him, half to convince herself that it was real.

Squished beside her into the small space under the tree's roots, Deidara matched her grin with one of his own as he caught his breathe. "That was..." He laughed a bit before continuing, feeling the euphoria brought on by their escape, "That was absolute, pure luck, yeah. We are so insanely _lucky_ not to be dead. How did you figure out it was safe to go?"

Deidara was smiling at her so completely openly that Sakura's heart thumped loudly. He was a mess; unwashed for days and sweaty from their recent exertions, with his hair tangled and falling freely from its ponytail, but to see him smiling so freely made her fight off a blush. She had so rarely seen him smile like this – he wasn't teasing her or smirking, he was just _happy_. Despite his obvious exhaustion, Sakura could tell the smile was genuine; it showed in his eyes. Hoping he would just pass off the colour in her cheeks as from exhaustion, she explained quickly, "We crossed a border. The three ninja chased us as far as they could, but a border patrol stopped them from going any further. That's why they started arguing! I've seen it happen so many times myself –"

Deidara's eyes widened as he came to a realization of his own, interrupting Sakura, "That's why the map ended where it did, yeah!" Pulling out the tattered piece of paper, he showed it to her, overjoyed at his discovery. "See? It's just a map of the country we were in."

Sakura hadn't thought of that, but it only served to prove what she was saying. "Good point," she conceded, "From what I could see too, the ninja had different headbands. Now that we're out of the other country, those three can't follow us. None of that country's ninja can. Not unless they want to start a war, or manage to work out some sort of deal with this place." Thinking back to her own experiences, she continued with mounting delight, "And that could take _months_."

"So that means we're –" Deidara stopped, not daring to say it.

"Safe," finished Sakura, breathing the word as though she hardly believed it herself.

They both collapsed into fits of laughter. It was too much – their exhaustion coupled with the stress from the escape and the elation at finally having eluded danger put them both in a near-hysteric state. Laughing until her sides hurt, Sakura felt tears well up in her eyes. She was so happy, she could have hugged Deidara. She could have even… Inner Sakura, perhaps too affected by the confusing mixture of relief and fatigue, encouraged the thought of giving Deidara a big, joyous kiss in celebration.

Stomping down on her inner self before things got out of hand, Sakura reigned in her emotions. Deidara's presence in the enclosed space under the tree began to make her feel awkward, but not the same sort of awkwardness that she'd felt after their first kiss. Deciding that this subject was too much to contemplate at this point in time, Sakura opted for the easy way out. Shushing her giggles, she told Deidara, "I'm going to sleep. Now."

He was out before she even finished the sentence.

* * *

Sakura was awoken by the sunlight pouring through the roots that made the roof of their hideout. Blinking against the harsh light, Sakura realized two things. Firstly, she had a terrible crick in her neck from having fallen asleep sitting. Secondly, she was glad she'd woken up first. Sheepishly moving her head off of Deidara's shoulder, she decided it would be best if he didn't know she'd been using him as a pillow.

As Sakura tried to work out the cramps in her back and neck, her movements woke up her travel partner. Startled from his sleep, Deidara's hand flew to the kunai at his belt before he fully took in his surrounding. Sakura grinned at him, knowing full-well the reaction of most ninja when they were woken suddenly. "'Morning. Sorry to wake you."

Deidara blinked at her, shaking his head to wake himself up. He winced suddenly, putting a hand to his face. "Ow..."

"What's wrong?" Sakura asked, concerned.

"Not sure, yeah…" Deidara removed his hand, and Sakura noticed that his face was covered with dried blood. Curious, she pressed her hand gently to the side of his face, relieved to note that there was at least no swelling. Deidara tensed, but did not move away.

"Must've been those stupid spiny trees, yeah," he hissed through clenched teeth, wincing as Sakura's hand pressed against tender skin. "You've got blood on you too."

"I _would_ heal it," she frowned apologetically, withdrawing her hand, "But I don't want to risk using chakra – there might be more patrols around. The blood's all dried up anyway, it's not like we're going to bleed to death."

Deidara nodded. "I agree on the no chakra deal, yeah. Now that we're safe, let's keep our heads down for a bit. We don't want to attract attention to ourselves again." Stretching his neck to one side, he continued, "Let's get out of this hole, yeah. My neck is on fire and it feels like there was a rock on my shoulder all night or something."

Hoping she didn't look too guilty at that comment, Sakura followed Deidara out of their shelter. Stretching out as much as she could, she breathed in the crisp morning air. "I have a good feeling about this country," she announced cheerfully. "I like it much better than the other one already."

Deidara rolled his eyes at her as he worked the knots out of his shoulders. "We still don't have a clue where we're going, yeah. And we have no food or water. The ninja aren't chasing us anymore, but we're not out of the woods yet."

Although she suspected it was unintentional, Sakura groaned at the bad pun. "Can't you just _enjoy_ things? At least we're _alive_." Her optimism surprised even herself, but she added, "If we just keep heading east we're sure to hit a road or a town _eventually_."

Deidara, however, shared none of Sakura's early-morning cheer. Looking around them in disgust, he continued, "I can't believe we also just fell asleep without setting any traps, yeah. That's so, so… _genin_."

Inwardly Sakura of agreed with him, but felt obligated to argue anyway. "It's fine. We aren't being chased anymore so it's not a big deal."

"I'd still feel a lot safer if we knew those ninja had been properly taken care of, yeah."

Sakura could guess what 'properly taken care of' meant in Deidara-speak. "Don't worry about it! They won't bother us anymore, so who cares? Live and let live, right?"

"Should've just blown them up anyway, yeah," Deidara glowered, mostly to himself.

"Akatsuki," Sakura sing-songed, half light-hearted and half trying to force herself not to be too disconcerted by the eagerness of his suggestion.

Noticing her uneasiness, Deidara shrugged nonchalantly. "Just in case, yeah."

"_Right_." Sakura raised an unconvinced eyebrow before changing the subject, "Anyway, we've got to figure out what we're going to do now. We can't sit around here all day."

"What choice do we have, yeah?" Deidara asked, resigned, as he shouldered their threadbare and filthy backpack. "We keep going east until we find the next town."

* * *

The trek was long and uneventful as they moved cautiously through the forest. Unwilling to use chakra in case it was detected by nearby patrols, they kept to the ground. With their energy not entirely replenished from the few hours of sleep they'd had and their bodies weak from lack of nourishment, their pace was slow but steady nonetheless. Sakura guessed it was past midday when they emerged from the woods and stumbled upon a muddy dirt road

"Oh _finally_!" she cried, throwing her arms upwards in joy.

Even Deidara had nothing sarcastic to say for once. "Must be getting close to _something_, yeah. Look, there're tracks all over the place – carts _and_ people."

"So which way should we go?" To Sakura, both directions seemed exactly the same – more dirt road bordered by forest on one side and fenced-in, frost-covered fields on the other.

"Careful!" Deidara grabbed Sakura by the shoulder suddenly and steered her quickly off to the side of the road as a covered wagon trundled haphazardly past. The driver yelled something vaguely angry at them but continued down the road without a glance back.

Wiping off some of the mud that the passing wagon had splattered on her, Sakura shook her fist in the direction it had gone. "What's he yelling about? He nearly ran me down! And he didn't even offer us a ride – how nice is that?"

Deidara shrugged, unconcerned. "I don't blame him, yeah. I wouldn't pick us up either."

"You wouldn't pick _anyone_ up."

"True," he conceded, "But I mean, look at us." He gestured towards their clothes and Sakura was forced to agree with him. They were definitely more along the lines of filthy peasant beggars than of sympathy-inspiring travelers. Proving his point further, Deidara tried unsuccessfully to run his fingers through his hair, which was tangled and caked with mud. "The sooner we find a town, the better," he concluded.

Squinting into the distance and considering their options, Sakura had an idea. "Let's go the way the cart was heading. He couldn't have been going nowhere – we're bound to run into something if we follow him."

As chance would have it, Sakura was right. Passing by a number of farmhouses on the way, they eventually came to a village. Sakura could think of no word to describe it other than 'quaint'. Judging by the dirt roads, the village wasn't affluent, but it nonetheless had a certain charm. The stone houses had wooden roofs and shutters. Many had window boxes filled with colourful flowers.

"Hhmm… I kind of like it," Deidara admitted reluctantly, half-surprised at himself. Sakura grinned and shook her head at him.

Breathing a sigh of relief, she spotted what looked to be a tavern. Opening the door, she was greeted by the inviting smell of food. Mouth watering and her stomach sending sudden pangs to remind her it hadn't been fed in two days, Sakura fought for her concentration. Glancing about her, she figured they'd be able to find a room for the night here; a staircase led up to a second floor with a number of doors. On the main floor, a few patrons tried not to stare at the newcomers. Approaching the bar, behind which stood a round, middle-aged woman with curly hair, Sakura reached into their backpack for money.

"A room please," said Sakura as she placed a handful of coins on the counter, ignoring the gawking men seated at the bar and not caring if the money was far more than needed. By now she was willing to pay a premium on food and a bath.

The woman looked doubtfully at the coins for a moment before replying, "Hmm… Bad money." Palming it nonetheless, her face broke out into a wide grin. "But I take."

It took Sakura a moment to register what she had just heard. Certain that her mouth was hanging open in shock but not really caring, she turned to look at Deidara just in case her ears were deceiving her. He matched her expression, which Sakura took as a confirmation.

Turning back to the woman, Sakura stammered, "Y-You… You speak English?"

The woman nodded, before making a hand gesture to help explain and replying slowly with a heavy accent, "Little bit." Still faced with two stunned customers, she struggled for the correct words to explain. "For… Trade."

Unwilling to try her linguistic skills further, the woman clapped her hands and summoned a young barmaid, conversing rapidly with her in their own language before handing her a key. Sakura was still thunderstruck as the girl began ushering them to their room. Shaking herself from her stupor, Sakura called back to the older woman hopefully, "Food?"

"Si, si… _yes_," answered the woman and waved at them to follow the girl upstairs.

After leading them to their room, the young girl went back down to the tavern, closing the door and leaving the two ninja to themselves. Unable to fully comprehend what had just happened, Sakura turned slowly to face Deidara, whose mouth was still slightly open in amazement.

Shaking himself from his state of shock, Deidara summed up both of their feelings, "Holy _fuck_."

His words bringing her back to reality, Sakura felt herself flooded with emotions. This time, she didn't bother to restrain herself. Closing the distance between them, she wrapped her arms tightly around him. Whether her shoulders shook from laughter or tears, she couldn't tell. Vaguely aware that Deidara's arms had encircled her in a hug equally as fierce and desperate as her own, Sakura replayed the scene downstairs over and over in her mind. The woman had spoken English. Poorly, but English nonetheless. Which meant… Which meant… Closing her eyes, Sakura was laughing and crying too hard into Deidara's muddy shirt to finish that thought. Both of them shaking from emotion, stress, and exhaustion, they held each other, crushed as tight as they could, breaking apart only when the maid reentered their room with food.

"_Thank you_," Sakura told the girl as she set a tray with their meals on the bed, followed by a change of clothes for each of them. She had never meant those words more in her entire life. The barmaid looked confused, but curtseyed politely before hurrying from the room. Wasting no time, the two ninja made short work of the first proper meal they'd had in days.

"That was the best the food I have ever had," Sakura declared when they'd finished.

"For once, I agree with you, yeah." When Sakura gave him a look of exaggerated surprise, he fought off a yawn and added, "I know - I'm shocked too. Don't get used to it."

She smiled at Deidara, who was already half-dozing after the meal, not caring that he was getting dirt on the bedspread. Picking up her clothes, Sakura headed to the washroom for a much needed shower – Deidara might prioritize sleep, but she figured she could keep her eyes open for at least a few more minutes if it meant being clean.

Closing the door behind her, granting herself a rare moment of privacy, she sank down onto the tile floor, hugging the bundle of clean clothes. She could still hardly believe it – finding someone who spoke their language so far out in the middle of nowhere, after all that they'd been through. "For trade," the woman had said. Sakura buried her face in the bundle of clothes and bit her lip to stop the tears, both of joy and of something she couldn't define; they were getting closer to home.


	11. Chapter 11

**Title:** Somewhere I Have Never Travelled, Gladly Beyond  
**Fandom:** Naruto  
**Type:** Multi-chaptered  
**Rating:** Pg-13  
**Pairings:** Deidara/Sakura  
**Word count:** 4,281  
**Summary:** Naruto had been bragging all day that his new jutsu was his best yet. Sakura and her new situation beg to differ. Post time-skip. DeiSaku.

**A/N:** Thank you once again to all reviewers! A quick note of clarification: Just as the world of Naruto differs geographically from that of our own, SomewhereVerse is not the same as our Earth. Therefore, while most of the locations described are heavily influenced by my own travels and experiences, that does not mean that our heroes are in Spain / France / Italy. Also: the next update might not happen for a while. My final term of university is starting soon, and I doubt there will be much time for writing in the upcoming months. But we'll see:)

* * *

When she awoke the next morning, Sakura almost believed she was dreaming. She was in a warm, soft bed, and was still slightly full from the food they'd eaten the night before. Her hair smelled of soap and there wasn't dirt between her toes. Beside her, Deidara was still asleep, radiating heat like a furnace. 

Wiping the sleep from her eyes, Sakura felt something she hadn't had in a long time: calm. Curling closer to Deidara and his warmth, no longer caring about issues of propriety after all they'd been through, Sakura allowed herself to relax.

As Sakura shifted to get comfortable, Deidara mumbled something incoherent but made no effort to move away. Watching him through sleepy eyes, Sakura felt the corners of her mouth tug upwards. He always slept with his mouth slightly open, and no matter how his hair was when he fell asleep, it always managed to end up a complete mess in the morning. Seeing his hair clean was strange to her; the warm gold colour, no longer dull from grime, stood out against the white pillows.

Falling into a half-sleep, Sakura enjoyed the warmth they shared. The smell of breakfast rose from the tavern downstairs, and she could hear the distant toll of bells. Beside her, Deidara yawned and sighed, "This is _so_ nice, yeah."

Keeping her eyes closed but breaking into a grin, Sakura couldn't resist. "That's what all guys say when they wake up next to a pretty lady."

He gave her a sleepy laugh, and they didn't bother getting up until the tavern owner knocked on their door, bringing them breakfast.

Setting the tray on the nightstand by the bed, the woman picked up the dirty clothes they'd discarded on the floor the night before. "Will clean," she told them cheerfully, making hand motions of scrubbing before leaving them be.

"They're awfully nice here," Sakura commented, reaching over Deidara to take one of the bowls of porridge.

Propping himself up against the headboard and taking a piece of melon, Deidara said through bites, "That's only because you forked over a ton of our money to them last night, yeah."

Blowing on the food to help it cool, Sakura shrugged, "I don't see any harm in it. We should probably get rid of the rest of the coins soon anyway. Didn't you hear what the woman said last night? 'Bad money'. It's a different currency here, I'll bet."

"Either that or she knows she we got it from B&E."

Sakura burned her tongue as she started in on her breakfast too fast. "Bee and what?"

"Breaking and entering." He looked appalled. "What kind of a ninja doesn't know that, yeah?"

"An _honest_ one," she replied in a mockingly superior tone of voice.

When they'd finished the last of their breakfast, Sakura stood up from the bed, stretching, and made her way over to the window. Drawing back the curtains she was greeted with a beautiful view of the village. The wooden roofs of the houses were covered in a thin layer of glistening frost, giving the entire village an almost surreal, crystalline appearance. Her enjoyment of the scenery, however, was cut short by a comment from Deidara.

"_What_ are you wearing?"

Turning to face him, Sakura felt a blush creep into her cheeks. Confused as to why she cared what he thought of her appearance, she replied anyway, "It's the change of clothes they gave us last night."

"It's hideous," he informed her, very matter of fact.

Sakura knew what he said was true. The long, formless brown dress hung unattractively off her small frame and reminded her of something grandmothers wore.

"Well what else was I supposed to put on?" she replied hotly, trying to cover her embarrassment. "I either had to wear this, those filthy old clothes, or sleep naked."

Deidara, thankfully, declined to answer and both of their faces turned bright shades of pink. Sakura immediately regretted what she'd said, and busied herself with bunching some of the extra fabric around the waist of her dress into a knot to make it slightly more form-fitting.

"Stylish," Deidara commented wryly when she'd finished.

"You're no better yourself, you know," she shot back defensively as she combed the tangles from her hair with her fingers. "That shirt is huge on you."

The plain canvas shirt he'd been given was big enough to fit two of him inside, and the pants were just barely held up around his hips by an old, cracked leather belt. Sakura would never admit it out loud, but the effect of the clothes was not a complete disaster; with his long hair and the shirt that hung loose around his shoulders, he looked almost like a stereotypical poet.

"I realize that." Wrinkling his nose in disgust, he continued, "Which is why I suggest we see what this place has to offer in terms of shops, yeah."

With that decided, they left their room and descended to the main part of the building. The tavern owner nodded at them in greeting as she cleaned glasses behind the bar.

Seeing an opportunity, Sakura took it. Approaching the counter, she asked, "Excuse me, but do you know how we can get to Konoha from here?"

The woman blinked, confused by the long phrase. "Konoha?" Sakura repeated hopefully.

Uncomprehending, the woman shook her head and offered one of the few words she knew, "Sorry."

Deidara spoke before Sakura could continue her questioning. "Thank you," he told the older woman, before taking Sakura by the elbow and leading her out the door. As they stepped out into the chilly air, he explained, "She might speak a bit of English, but it's not enough to get the information we need out of her. You'll only end up getting her confused, yeah."

Dismayed, Sakura nonetheless knew he was right. "So how are we going to find out where to go next?"

He shook his head before replying, "Don't know, yeah. Let's take a look – we might find something."

The village was small and consisted mainly of houses and only a few stores, but Sakura certainly found 'something' soon enough.

"_Shoes_," she crooned adoringly, almost pawing at the window display. Seeing the plain but functional variety of leather boots made her toes ache from the cold.

As they pushed open the door, the shopkeeper greeted them in his own language. "Hello!" Sakura replied cheerfully, "I would like to buy some shoes!"

Seeing the man's blank stare, Deidara told her, "I think the woman at the tavern was just a special case, yeah. Most people here probably don't speak _any_ English." Sakura's heart fell, but Deidara continued, "Don't worry, yeah. I happen to know a particular language that works anywhere."

Sakura gave him a puzzled expression, curious as to what he meant. Giving her a wink, Deidara flipped a number of their gold coins onto the counter beside the till.

"Now who's being generous?" Sakura teased, although she would have been willing to give double the amount if it meant warm feet.

Becoming animated at once, the shopkeeper rushed to present them with his wares. After a few tries, Sakura found a pair that fit well.

"Good riddance," said Sakura wholeheartedly as she tossed her old, ruined sandals into the wastepaper basket beside the till. She could have sworn that her new boots, made of soft, supple leather, were the most comfortable shoes she'd ever worn. Deidara had chosen a pair made of tougher, darker material, and his old sandals quickly joined Sakura's in the garbage.

The only shop selling clothes was almost dismissed outright, as a glance through the windows showed that they'd only find articles similar to what they'd been given at the tavern.

"Wait," Deidara called, as Sakura began to walk away. "Let's go in anyway, yeah."

Shocked, she almost didn't believe what she'd just heard. "_You_ want to go in that place?"

"Yes," he ground out through clenched teeth, as though it was the most difficult thing to admit.

"What happened to your supposedly highly attuned sense of fashion?"

"Just for a minute, yeah." He opened the door and went in before Sakura could say anything else.

Puzzled, she followed him. It wasn't as though she had anything else to do, and this at least promised to provide good ammunition against him the next time they resorted to taunting each other.

Most of the clothing was thick, winter gear in drab colours. Deidara brushed past all of this, however, and went directly to a shelf displaying a variety of gloves. Waving away the shop assistant and avoiding Sakura's gaze, he chose a pair of plain black gloves. Paying for them, he made sure to use his hands in a way that would conceal the bloodline limit affecting them.

Seeing his jaw set in that stubborn way of his but also recognizing the faint pink tinge in his face as something bordering humiliation, Sakura immediately felt bad for teasing him. She should have guessed he would need something to cover the mouths in his palms. Although she could almost say that she'd gotten used to them by now, most other people wouldn't feel the same. In a strange way, him buying gloves reminded her of how she used to wear her hair with thick bangs, hoping to hide the forehead she was so self-conscious about.

"Let's go, yeah," Deidara muttered, still not looking straight at her.

"Wait!" Hit with an odd wave of understanding, Sakura stumbled over what to say next. "I… I want to buy some too."

Deidara narrowed his eyes, on guard for a joke at his expense. "For the cold," Sakura explained weakly.

Quickly choosing a pair of sheepskin gloves for herself and paying for them, she held up her now toasty warm hands towards Deidara. "What do you think of them?"

"Not bad, yeah." Sakura was relieved to see his features soften as he realized she hadn't intended to tease him.

"Stopping in there was a good idea," Sakura told him, smiling as they stepped back outside.

The other shops in town proved to be less useful. "It's almost a shame we don't have a farm, yeah," Deidara remarked as they passed by a row of stores selling seeds, tools, and livestock items.

The last store they came across seemed to be filled with a variety of random items. Curious, Sakura went in anyway, the chimes attached to the door ringing as she entered.

Inside, the shop resembled the explosion of someone's attic. Objects were crowded on tables, with no clear organization behind their placement. Colourful plastic toys mixed with ornately carved wooden boxes, and the dull lighting caused piles of cheap jewelry to twinkle attractively. Running her hands over the trinkets and bobbles, Sakura felt like a little kid. The whole store smelled strongly of dust and tobacco. The shopkeeper, seemingly oblivious to the fact that he now had customers, held a pipe in one hand and a book in the other.

"Why would anyone even buy some of this stuff, yeah?" Deidara asked, examining a glass ball that simulated a snowstorm when you shook it.

Sakura picked up an old teddy bear, more than a little worse for wear with one eye missing and stuffing peaking out through the stitches. Smiling nostalgically, she moved to put him back before something caught her eye. Under where the bear had been seated was an old book. Setting the bear down nearby, Sakura brushed the dust from the book's cover, displaying the picture of a globe. Opening it, her breath caught in her throat. It was filled with maps. An atlas.

"Deidara," she whispered excitedly, "Look at this."

Moving to look over her shoulder, he raised an eyebrow and drawled, "I didn't realize you had such a passion for geography, yeah."

Ignoring him, she flipped through the pages until her eyes landed on something painfully familiar. The map was a rough sketch at most, the drawn borders both estimated and dating back at least several decades, but to Sakura's eyes it was unmistakable: the Fire Country. Although it wasn't marked, Sakura's gaze landed on where she knew it to be.

The hidden village of Konoha.

Taking an involuntary step back, her knees suddenly weak, she leaned against Deidara for support. "Don't you see?" she breathed, "This is exactly what we need."

Steadying her with his hands on her shoulders, Deidara nodded slowly. "If we can find out where we are now…"

Taking a deep breathe to force down her swirling emotions, Sakura regained her strength and moved towards the shopkeeper who was still immersed in reading. "Sir?" she called softly. He looked up, frowning that he'd been disturbed, and Sakura held out the atlas towards him. "Could you show me where we are now? Where are we on these maps?"

Knitting his eyebrows at the sound of the unfamiliar words, the man shook his head to show he didn't understand. Swallowing nervously and trying to figure out how to mime her question, Sakura pointed at the ground, then the atlas, repeating the motions several times.

Settling his own book on the table beside him, the shopkeeper took the atlas from Sakura and thumbed through the pages. Studying one of the maps for a moment, he pointed to a small circle indicating a town. The tiny letters above it read: Bergaís.

After leaving the man a large handful of coins in exchange for the book, causing him to choke on the smoke from his pipe in surprise, Deidara and Sakura hurried back to their room at the tavern.

Both of them collapsing on the bed, they poured over the maps, folding corners of important pages and pointing excitedly at certain spots. When at last they figured out where they were in relation to the Fire Country and its surrounding countries, Sakura was stunned.

Deidara stared incredulously at a two-page spread of the world. "_How_ did that brat manage to send us all the way to here, yeah?"

Wondering the same thing, Sakura replied, "I have _no_ idea." She thought of Naruto, the boy with grand ambitions and a heart of gold, and smiled fondly. "But if anyone could do something like this, it's him."

Naruto's mysterious jutsu had transported them far indeed. Not only had it sent them far north and across the equator, attributing to the change in season, it had also sent them to the west. Far, far west.

Rubbing his eyes, sore from reading small print, Deidara ­­­groaned in frustration, "Let me get this straight, yeah. To get back, we have to _cross a goddamned ocean_."

Sakura bit her lip and traced their path with a finger. "That's what it looks like. We're on a completely different continent – we can't just walk home from here."

According to the atlas, the continent they were on now was smaller than the one with the Fire Country. Despite this, the land was broken into more countries and kingdoms than Sakura would have expected. A mountain range ran across the northern reaches, and most of the settlements were towards the south. The village they were currently in, as indicated by the shopkeeper, was placed in the central-eastern region of the continent, fairly close to the body of water that would need to be crossed.

Turning to another page and squinting at the map, Deidara tapped one of the towns with a finger. "This place here is the closest port, yeah. If we go there we can see about finding a boat across."

The coastal town he'd pointed out was marked on the map by a square, with its name labeled above in decorative letters.

"Cìen." Sakura found the name rolled pleasantly off her tongue, even though she knew her pronunciation of it was probably terrible.

"It should be about a day's worth of walking, yeah," Deidara estimated, stretching out on the bed, "If we leave here early tomorrow morning we can be there by nightfall."

"If they're willing to take foreign currency, we can use the money we have left to buy passage on a ship – there must be traders who go to the Fire Country." From there, Sakura knew she would have no problems getting home. After years of missions and patrols, she no longer needed a map to navigate her own country. No matter what port she disembarked at, it would only be a journey of a few days to reach Konoha.

Sakura lay down beside Deidara on the bed and closed her eyes. Now that they were out of danger and had figured out how to get back, the possibility of seeing Konoha again made her heart ache. Getting back home had always been the goal of this whole journey, but now that she was so close to achieving it and she had a moment of calm, she was hit with a wave of homesickness. Going home would mean seeing her friends again. It would mean hanging out with Ino at the flowershop, continuing the eternal quest to see Kakashi's face, forcibly correcting Sai's social blunders, and resuming her medical studies with Tsunade. Not to mention, it would mean wringing Naruto's neck for his stupid jutsu.

The rest of the afternoon passed quietly, but Sakura couldn't shake her longing for home. When she went for a walk around the village again, seeing the frosty ground made her wish for Konoha's sun and warmth. When the tavern lady handed back their old clothes, now patched and cleaned, Sakura remembered how Ino would drag her out shopping if her outfits were even the slightest bit worn. When they were served soup for dinner, Sakura had a sudden craving for ramen and missed her evenings at Ichiraku with Team Seven.

By the time she began preparing for bed, Sakura was more weary emotionally than physically. Aside from being homesick, she began to wonder what her friends were doing now. Were they off on difficult missions? Had anyone found themselves a new romance? Did they miss her as much as she missed them? That last question prompted another distressing train of thought: did everyone think she was dead?

Deidara, who was already stretched out under the covers on one side of the bed, watched Sakura as she brushed her hair absentmindedly.

"What's got you so down, yeah?" he asked, curious. "This whole day has been pretty much the best thing that's happened since we started this crazy adventure, but you look like your pet goldfish just died."

Sakura sighed as she settled herself onto the other side of the bed, taking her pillow and hugging it tight. She was hesitant to tell him what was bothering her; they may have formed a strange, indefinable bond, but they rarely spoke about things like _feelings_. There was no longer any real malice when Deidara teased her, but Sakura was still reluctant to admit to any form of weakness. "It's just that… Now that we know how to get home, I can't stop thinking of…" She bit her lip, taking a deep breathe and closing her eyes before simply saying, "I miss my friends."

Deidara looked at her warily. "If you start doing any of that girly shit like crying or whatever, I'm outta here so fast--" The pillow Sakura had been clutching hit him in the face.

"Don't tell me you don't ever miss people." Tossing the pillow back at her, he raised an eyebrow and she immediately felt stupid. "Never mind, I forgot the sort you hang around with…"

"Hey that's just _mean_, yeah." He gave her a wounded expression, but Sakura knew it was too exaggerated to be real. "They're not that bad."

"No, they're only the most notorious and dangerous group of criminals around. I'm sure they're all absolutely charming."

"No really, I'm being serious, yeah." Deidara kept his face straight, but Sakura wasn't convinced.

Sliding under the blankets and making herself comfortable, she asked skeptically, "What, are you going to tell me that Itachi is just misunderstood?"

"No. Itachi's an overconfident, anti-social, miserable prick through and through. And those creepy eyes, yeah? It's no wonder no one ever wants to sit beside him at the annual Akatsuki potluck." Deidara's expression was completely earnest, but Sakura felt the beginnings of a grin. "Tobi, on the other hand… He can be annoying, but he's a good kid, yeah. He'll lend you his cd collection no problem."

What he was saying was so absurd, Sakura couldn't help but break into a wide smile. "Hidan's religious enlightenment should serve as a moral lesson to us all," said Deidara with absolute sincerity. "Kakuzu is the stingiest bastard on the planet but if you ever _do_ convince him to gamble you've already made yourself a fortune. He's got no poker face."

Sakura felt all of her earlier worries be swept away by the mental images Deidara was giving her. Ignoring her giggles, he continued, "Kisame writes poetry in his spare time – it's actually not bad, yeah. And Zetsu's great if you're into gardening."

Sakura shook from laughter, waiting to hear what Deidara would say next.

"And if any of them knew I just made all that stuff up about them, I'd be _so dead_, yeah," he finished with a grin, before he reached over and turned out the lamp.

Finally managing to calm her giggles, Sakura waited for her eyes to adjust to the dark, wondering idly why Deidara had told her such outrageous stories. Piecing the reason together, Sakura felt foolish for not having figured it out earlier: he'd been trying to cheer her up.

Rolling herself over under the covers to look towards him, she called softly, "Deidara?"

"Hmm?"

Not quite sure what to say, she told him plainly but heartfelt, "Thanks."

"…Whatever. Just don't expect me to tell you any more Akatsuki secrets, yeah."

Smiling at him in the dark, Sakura was hit with a sudden wave of gratefulness. She was _so glad_ that he was here. Not just because it meant not having to travel alone, Sakura realized with a small amount of surprise, but also because she enjoyed having him around. He could be infuriating, argumentative, and something about him threw her emotions into confusion, but now that they saw each other as people rather than ninja from opposing sides, she _liked him_. She knew she was crazy for thinking that way about a former enemy, but it was impossible to deny. He had more faults than she could count and they didn't always get along, but she enjoyed being around him.

The exact terms of their relationship were still muddled and undefined, but Sakura suspected they could be called friends – it didn't sound quite right, but she couldn't think of any other word. Their viewpoints were completely skewed – she didn't doubt that his morals were on a much looser scale than her own – and they still bickered incessantly, yet somehow she didn't mind. It wasn't impossible to think that they could fight almost daily and still be friends. Ino and Sai coming to mind, Sakura recognized that she didn't always get along with other people she considered close friends.

At the same time, Sakura wondered if they had reached some strange new level; not necessarily friends, but something else entirely. They had begun as bitter enemies, but after all they had been through, his presence beside her in the bed was now almost reassuring. Curling up back to back with Deidara, sharing their warmth under the blankets, she wondered how many of her friends back in Konoha she would feel comfortable enough with to do the same.

As she thought about both Deidara and her friends back home, Sakura froze with an unpleasant question. What would happen with Deidara when she went back to Konoha?

When they had first started their journey together, this question wouldn't have posed her any difficulty; they would co-operate only enough to get home, and later have no problem trying to kill each other. Now, however, the situation was different. She could hit him playfully, knowing he could take anything she threw at him, but she no longer wished him any harm. It was against her better judgment to trust an Akatsuki, but Sakura felt confident that Deidara no longer posed any threat to her either.

So what would happen when she reached Konoha? She couldn't bring him back with her to the hidden village – he was listed as kill on sight in the bingo book. It wasn't as though she would even be able to keep in touch with him – any communication with him would be an act of treason. She knew it was irrational to have developed such an attachment to him, but it hurt to think that she might never see him again, that all of the strange bond they'd created would have to be severed. She knew it was pathetic, but she couldn't deny that she would_ miss him_. Considering her few and depressing options, Sakura was left with the disquieting feeling that she didn't want to go back to Konoha just yet.

With a mounting sensation of panic, Sakura did the only thing she could think of to calm her mind. Speaking quietly into the dark, she asked, "Deidara? When we get back to the Fire Country… What will you do? Will you go back to the Akatsuki? Will I ever see you again?"

She was answered only with silence.

Sakura suspected that Deidara's sleep was feigned, but she didn't push him to answer; she wasn't sure she wanted to know his response anyway. Turning about restlessly, Sakura was left alone in the darkness, with only her own confused thoughts as company.


	12. Chapter 12

**Title:** Somewhere I Have Never Travelled, Gladly Beyond  
**Fandom:** Naruto  
**Type:** Multi-chaptered  
**Rating:** Pg-13  
**Pairings:** Deidara/Sakura  
**Word count:** 4,891  
**Summary:** Naruto had been bragging all day that his new jutsu was his best yet. Sakura and her new situation beg to differ. Post time-skip. DeiSaku.

**A/N:** Wonders do happen – squeezing in another chapter before the start of midterms and essay due dates.

* * *

"Oh _goddamn_ its cold!" Sakura didn't care if she'd now lost track of how many times she'd said that – it was _true_.

Deidara rubbed his arms in a futile attempt to keep warm as they walked carefully along the icy road. "We almost should've kept those ugly tavern clothes, yeah. This is one of the few times that I'd be willing to sacrifice style for comfort."

Sakura chuckled weakly at that, the sound coming out choked and strange as her teeth chattered. "I don't know about that… I had that awful brown dress, remember?"

"I'm trying not to, yeah."

She would have stuck her tongue out at him had it not been so cold. "Whatever. Point is we have got to have the worst luck. Ever. Just when we're getting closer to home, we get hit by a massive snowstorm. What did we do to deserve this?"

Avoiding an icy patch on the road, Deidara said, "If you're talking karma, yeah, I can think of a few things I've done that might've merited this."

"Just a few?" she asked, raising an eyebrow in doubt.

He shrugged, unconcerned. "Maybe a bit more."

"Well thanks for sharing your karmic retribution with me, you jerk. Keep it to yourself next time."

"So mean, yeah! Would you really wish all that on me?"

"Yes, I would," she said with conviction as she shivered. "And I still hope you get reincarnated as a duck."

They grinned at each other for a moment before Sakura covered her face and looked away -- the biting wind made her teeth hurt. Glad that they'd at least thought to buy new boots, Sakura now thoroughly regretted their decision to leave for the nearest port town that morning. The storm had started only a few hours after they'd left, and much to Sakura's dismay they'd already gone too far to turn back. As long as they stuck to the main road they'd get there eventually – Sakura could only hope fervently that 'eventually' meant 'right now'.

The harsh wind and snow that drifted from the nearby fields made it difficult to see as she squinted into the distance. After hours of being faced with a constant wall of white, she almost didn't register what she was seeing when small specks of light appeared through the storm. Deidara, however, wasted no time in rejoicing. "Lights! They've got to be coming from a town, yeah."

Struck by a wave of excitement as she realized he was right, Sakura stepped forward a little too quickly – the treads of her new boots were no match for the sudden movement combined with the slippery road. As she panicked and felt her feet slip out from under her, Sakura reached for the closest thing to try and steady herself. Unfortunately for Deidara, that happened to be his sleeve. Unbalanced, they both toppled over and were left sprawled out across the snowy road.

With one arm trapped painfully under his travel partner, Deidara wasn't amused. "_Thank you_ for that, yeah."

"Sorry," Sakura apologized sheepishly as she stood up. She pressed a hand gingerly against her tailbone which had taken most of the fall. It was going to be sore tomorrow, she thought with a grimace.

Deidara winced as he massaged his wrist that had been pinned beneath Sakura. With a slight twinge of guilt, Sakura held out a hand to help him stand. "I didn't mean to take you down with me."

"It's fine…" The brief moment of surprise that Sakura felt at being so easily forgiven was quickly crushed. Deidara reached towards her proffered hand but grabbed her wrist instead. After pulling himself up, he picked Sakura up by the waist and dropped her unceremoniously in a nearby snow bank.

"Now we're even, yeah." Deidara turned away and strolled casually towards the distant lights, oblivious to Sakura spitting curses at him as she extricated herself from the snow.

Humiliated and with her clothes now cold and wet, Sakura formed a snowball and threw it at Deidara's back. He stepped to the side, dodging it easily, and continued walking as though nothing had happened. Sakura glared and ground her teeth before stomping after him.

By the time they reached the town, Sakura could feel her wet clothes beginning to freeze to her skin. With the frigid wind blowing harder as they approached the sea, the sensation was more than just a little unpleasant. Breath coming in short gasps as she shivered, Sakura could only bite her lip to fight back tears. Being warm seemed like such wishful thinking she almost couldn't imagine it. Deidara glanced over at her, his face somewhere between guilt and a scowl, and muttered words that were drowned out by the vicious wind.

Too cold to protest or care, Sakura felt Deidara to place an arm around her shoulders as he steered her through the streets. She closed her eyes, trying to convince herself that she was already somewhere safe and warm and allowed herself to be led. When Deidara managed to locate a place to stay for the night, Sakura was only vaguely aware that he half carried her up the steps and into the inn.

Without even a nod to acknowledge the innkeeper as they entered, Deidara kept his arm around Sakura's shoulders and marched her directly to a chair by the fireplace. Surprised but grateful, Sakura stretched her hands out towards the fire as she sank into the cushions of the armchair. Glancing up, she caught Deidara's eyes for a second before he looked away, adopting one of his usual haughty expressions.

Curious about the newcomers who had so suddenly invaded her establishment, the innkeeper called out, "Welcome!"

Before she could stop herself, Sakura sighed in relief. "I am _so glad_ you speak English!" With parts of her body suffering from the beginnings of frostbite, she wasn't in the mood to negotiate in hand signs.

"Of course I do!" The woman's accent was thick but understandable. She stepped out from behind the desk and pulled a blanket from a nearby sofa. Deidara took it from her and draped it around Sakura's shivering form as the woman explained, "We get lots of traders here -- you have to learn a few languages if you want to stay in business. Now what can I do for you two? A room for the night?"

"Yes, please!" Sakura answered desperately as Deidara handed over their money.

The woman inspected the coins with a frown. "Hhmm… Foreign currency." She sighed and shook her head, handing the money back to Deidara. "I don't accept that."

Sakura's face fell. She must have been a pathetic sight indeed; the innkeeper's expression softened into a kindly smile as she looked at her. "Not to worry though, dear. We'll figure out payment tomorrow – you can get the money exchanged at the bank. In the meantime, I've got the perfect room for you and your boyfriend."

Sakura growled and hugged the blanket tightly around her shoulders. That misunderstanding was starting to get old. "He's not my boyfriend."

The innkeeper's smile was completely unfazed. She winked knowingly at Sakura. "No, _of course not_, dear. Now come along."

Sakura clenched her teeth in frustration as she gathered the remains of her energy and stood up from the chair. As the woman turned back towards her desk, Sakura could feel Deidara trying to stifle giggles beside her. She stomped on his foot. He doubled over in pain as the innkeeper brought them their key.

* * *

Sakura awoke the next morning to Deidara throwing open the blinds. "How is it that the one day you manage to wake up earlier than me is the one day when I really need more sleep?" she groaned, closing her eyes against the light.

"It's already noon, yeah. You can't sleep for the whole day." With an evil grin, he pulled the covers from the bed.

"I can see now why you're in the Akatsuki," she grumbled as she curled into a ball to try and retain the warmth of her stolen covers. "Clearly you have no mercy."

"Quit whining," he said as he handed her a plate of crescent-shaped pastries. Sakura bit into one and almost spilled the jam filling down her shirt. "You should be excited, yeah – if we can find a ship today we'll be on our way home soon."

That thought caused her to bite her lip. No longer hungry, she placed the rest of the pastry back on the plate. She pressed a hand against where she'd bitten her lip and turned away from Deidara. It was silly, she knew it was, but the feeling of apprehension she'd experienced the night before returned. She wanted to go back to Konoha, but at the same time she didn't.

Noticing Sakura's sudden change in mood, Deidara sat down beside her on the bed. He studied her face closely before narrowing his eyes and asking warily, "You're not getting sick or anything, yeah? 'Cause if you do I'm not taking care of you."

Sakura's eyes flitted up to look at his. She opened her mouth but couldn't bring herself to say what she was feeling. He would probably laugh at her and she would feel like a complete fool if he had no reservations about never seeing her again after their adventure. She closed her mouth and swallowed, at a loss for what to say.

Their eyes stayed locked on each other's and Sakura had a moment of fleeting, wishful hope that he understood her unspoken thoughts. Deidara looked away first and tugged distractedly on some loose strands of hair. In that instant, Sakura wished more than anything to know what he was thinking.

Deidara took a deep, steadying breath and stood up from the bed. Without meeting Sakura's gaze, he made his way to the door. "Let's go, yeah."

Still disoriented by her previous thoughts, she blinked. "Go? Where?"

"To the harbour, yeah." His shoulders were tense and Sakura could see his knuckles go white as he gripped the door handle too tight. "I'll wait for you downstairs."

As the door closed behind him, Sakura buried her face in her hands. She wanted to scream and shake Deidara until all of his hidden emotions tumbled out. It was embarrassing, torturous even, to think that she was the only one who had developed some weird sort of attachment. But she couldn't tell him what she was feeling; they just didn't _do that_. Besides, she couldn't even clearly identify her own thoughts and emotions. With a shake of her head, which did little to clear it, Sakura got up and prepared to go outside.

* * *

The freshly fallen snow crunched beneath her boots as she stepped out onto the street. Deidara was leaning against the side of the inn, gazing absentmindedly up at the clear sky. "Shall we?" Sakura asked, pasting on a falsely cheerful grin. He gave her a smile that didn't reach his eyes and nodded.

As they walked in the direction of the port, Sakura had a chance to take in her surroundings. Between the storm and her own pitiful condition, she'd hardly noticed the town the night before. The buildings were made mostly of stone, but the wooden shutters and snow-covered roofs gave them a certain charm. The streets weren't particularly busy, but they still had some life to them. People nodded to each other as they hurried into the warmth of the shops. Sakura couldn't help but smile to herself; she liked the town.

When they arrived at the port, Deidara looked around in confusion. "Where are all the boats, yeah?"

Furrowing her brow, Sakura wondered the same thing. "The water's all covered in ice too," she noticed as she approached the edge of the harbour.

"You be careful you don't fall in there, Miss."

Startled, Sakura turned towards the voice. An older man, bundled up against the cold so that only a few wisps of grey hair were visible, nodded in greeting to Deidara before continuing, "That ice won't hold you, and the water's so cold you'll lose your toes."

A familiar note in his voice triggered memories of her first C-rank mission, and Sakura asked, surprised, "You're from the Wave Country, aren't you?"

"Right you are, and if I'm not mistaken, you're a long ways from home yourself." He tilted his head towards a nearby building. "Now let's get inside before we all freeze to death."

The air inside the bar was thick with smoke, and the wooden floors creaked as Sakura stepped inside. Deidara looked decidedly unimpressed with the grimy surroundings. "Don't get the house beer," the man warned with a grimace as he pulled off his hat and scarf.

Once they'd settled around a table, Deidara and Sakura both ordering water to the dismay of the bartender, Sakura asked curiously, "So why are you all the way out here, Mister --?"

"Taku, just call me Taku." He pulled out a pack of cigarettes from a jacket pocket and offered one to Deidara, who shook his head in refusal. "I do some trading between here and the Wave Country. Just so happens that this year I didn't make it back before the winter kicked in, so now I'm stuck until the ice thaws." He shrugged as he fumbled with a pack of matches. "It's not that bad though, Cìen's a nice place and most of the people here can speak our language. It's just so damn cold, I'll never get used to it."

Sakura laughed, delighted at the chance to talk to someone so sympathetic. "You're telling me! What a change from what I'm used to in Ko--" Catching herself just in time, Sakura pretended to cough. "Ah, the Fire Country."

Taku raised an eyebrow at Sakura's slip-up, but didn't press her. Taking a long drag on his cigarette, he looked at Deidara. "And where are you from, young man?"

"One of the northern countries, yeah," Deidara replied as the bartender arrived with their drinks.

"Well with a dialect like that, I'd expect so." Taku downed the liquor he'd ordered in one go. "I guess you're used to the cold then. Right at home here, eh?"

Deidara made a face as he tried a sip of water; Sakura made a mental note not to drink her own. "Not really, yeah. We're looking to get back to the Fire Country as soon as we can."

"Well, you've still got a bit more time to wait."

Sakura leaned forward, resting her elbows on the table. "What do you mean?"

Taku tapped the ashes from his cigarette into his shot glass and explained, "There's no way anything can sail when the water's all icy during the winter."

"So we have to wait until spring?"

"Not exactly," Taku replied, as Sakura and Deidara exchanged confused glances. If they couldn't set sail now and they didn't have to wait until spring, when could they go home? Taku cleared his throat before continuing, "You have to wait a few months after that too, until summer. The ice melts off the northern mountains in the spring and causes rough conditions at sea. You'd be crazy to travel then!"

Sakura felt her heart do an uncomfortable flip-flop between relief and disappointment. They would have to stay in Cìen for longer than she'd expected. While this meant she wouldn't be reunited with her friends back in Konoha yet, it also meant… She glanced over at Deidara from the corner of her eye, but looked away quickly when their gazes met.

In an attempt to clear her mind, Sakura changed the subject and made small talk with Taku for a while as Deidara looked thoroughly bored, until the older man thanked them for their company and took his leave. "If you two need anything, don't hesitate to ask," he told them before once again braving the cold outside.

After Taku had left, Deidara slouched in his chair and rubbed his eyes wearily. "I can't believe we're going to be stuck here for such a long time, yeah."

That comment stung. Was he really so eager to go back to the Akatsuki? A knot in her stomach told Sakura that she had been silly to think he'd grown to consider her as a friend. She shifted uneasily in her chair as Deidara continued, "It's not like we can make a bird and fly across the ocean either – that would take too much chakra."

Her breath caught in her throat as her mind registered the word 'we'. Whether it was intentional or not, Sakura wasn't sure, but it was enough to make her smile. She might be uncertain about what he felt towards her, but she was at least confident that whatever happened they'd be in it together. "Come on," she said, standing up, "We can't mope around here all day."

"You're right, yeah. Let's look into getting our money changed over to the currency here," Deidara suggested as he followed her out of the warmth of the bar.

"Good idea," Sakura agreed as the chilly wind outside made her shiver. "Then we can get some real clothes. I can't wait to get rid of these ones." She plucked at a threadbare sleeve with disgust.

"We'll also have to pay our bill at the inn for last night, yeah."

Sakura blinked. "Oh. Right."

"You forgot about that didn't you?" he smirked at her, teasing.

"Of course not!" she lied, feeling her ears turn pink. Embarrassed, she quickened her pace, heading towards the main part of town.

* * *

The new coins they'd exchanged for their stolen money jingled pleasantly in her pocket as Sakura browsed through racks of clothing. Aware of the appalled looks the rather cute shop assistant was giving her current outfit – the faded, torn, and ill-fitting military clothes she'd snagged ages ago – Sakura hurried to find something more suitable. She was glad that she and Deidara had decided to separate while shopping, certain that he would have noticed her reasons for rushing and taken full advantage of the opportunity to tease her.

As her eyes fell on a familiar colour, Sakura pulled a shirt from its hanger. The button-up blouse was fitted and had cute sleeves that puffed slightly around the shoulders. Best of all, it was red; that perfect shade of red that marked her as a Haruno.

After a few more minutes of searching and a quick trip to the change room, Sakura cinched the belt on her coat and smiled at her reflection in the mirror. Along with a plain pair of jeans with the red blouse, she'd also found a knee-length white coat with a matching hat. The outfit certainly didn't qualify as practical ninja-wear, but it was much more appropriate for the weather.

Pleased with her purchases, Sakura made her way back to the inn. Halfway there, a familiar voice called out, "Nice coat, yeah."

Sakura turned to find an attractive young man, hands in his pockets and blond hair in disarray from the wind. She was about to give him a scowl and tell him she wasn't interested before she focused in on his smirk – she would recognize it anywhere – and did a double-take.

Deidara had found himself a pair of fitted jeans and a pea coat which he'd left unbuttoned, revealing a black, collared shirt. The effect of the properly fitting clothes was stunning, and Sakura felt herself flush. Even his face looked different, as Sakura noticed that a few square meals had begun to fill out his hollow cheeks. As her traitorous heart beat rapidly and her inner self had a swooning fit, she was unable to deny a simple truth -- Deidara was, in fact, quite attractive.

Flustered by her sudden realization, Sakura could do nothing but stare. Or perhaps it wasn't all that sudden, she thought, finally putting a name to the some of the more awkward and confusing emotions she'd felt during their time together.

"If your eyebrows go up any further into that forehead of yours, you'll lose them entirely, yeah"

Carefully schooling her expression, Sakura grumbled embarrassed excuses at him. It was no use though; even if she appeared calm, her heart and mind were both racing at her new discoveries.

"Glad you like it," he smirked superiorly, with a gesture towards his clothes. "What did you get?"

Sakura undid the belt and buttons of her jacket, tensing as the cold air hit the thin material of her shirt. Deidara made a strangled noise of disgust. "Red? _Again?_"

His comment squashed her previous thoughts. Certain that her face was turning a shade to match her outfit, Sakura told him hotly, "I've always worn red! It's my –"

"It's your family's colour, yeah I know," he interrupted and waved a hand in dismissal, which only served to make Sakura angrier. "But that doesn't mean it looks good on you. Why can't you wear something normal, yeah? Like that," he said, pointing to a window display in a nearby shop. One of the mannequins was modeling a cute, casual blouse with a pink, brown, and white striped pattern. Inwardly, Sakura agreed that it was a nice shirt. However, she knew that admitting to it would result in her unending suffering.

Ignoring the window display, she told Deidara, "I think what I bought is just fine! I think it's cute."

He gave her a long-suffering sigh and explained, "The shirt _is_ cute, yeah. But red doesn't do anything for you. At all."

"You're just saying that –"

"No, I'm _not_ just saying it, yeah. It's true." He heaved another sigh before explaining, "The actual shirt is cute, I agree. The cut on the sleeves is good for someone with your figure – it helps balance you out. But red isn't your colour. I've already told you it clashes with your hair and eyes, yeah. It's also no good for your complexion – you tend to blush easily, so if you wear red you're just going to look like a giant tomato."

Sakura had to make a conscious effort not to stare open-mouthed. She could hardly believe her ears. "I can't believe I'm getting fashion advice from _you_. You've got more taste my best friend back in Konoha!"

Deidara preened.

"And she's a _girl_," Sakura added futilely – nothing could wipe away the self-satisfied grin on Deidara's face. At a loss for what to do with him, she asked, "Why do you care about my clothes anyway? You're not the one wearing them."

"No," he replied morosely, "But I'm being seen with you in public, yeah."

They bickered all the way back to the inn, where they were met by the innkeeper who held out a hand expectantly. Upon the discovery that they'd spent a little too much money on clothes and no longer had enough to cover the cost of their room, the woman set them to work. "Don't worry," she'd said as she'd shooed them into the kitchen, "Peel enough potatoes and you can stay here again tonight."

The work was welcome, as Sakura spent the rest of her day trying to bury the flash of attraction she'd felt for Deidara.

"I'll bet you we _did_ have enough money for the room, yeah. That woman just wants cheap labour," Deidara grumbled while chopping carrots. Sakura didn't reply – all of her concentration went towards washing dishes and trying not to notice that he'd rolled up his sleeves and undone a few buttons at the top of his shirt.

"What's got into you today, yeah? You never seemed to be the domestic sort," Deidara remarked as Sakura scrubbed furiously at a greasy pot and tried her best to ignore him. When he didn't get an answer he continued talking, mostly to himself. Sakura grinned involuntarily at his good mood before refocusing her thoughts on other things that weren't liable to make her heart beat fast and her face tinge pink.

"So if we've got to stay here for a while, we might want to find a real place to stay, yeah. You know, like an apartment or something." Deidara didn't look at his fingers as he sliced and peeled vegetables with the telltale efficiency of a ninja with a sharp object. "Since it's going to be a few months and we're pretty much broke, we should probably get jobs too."

Inwardly, Sakura doubted that Deidara would really get a job – he didn't seem the sort. Tuning out his words, she sank into her own thoughts. They were going to have to settle in the town for a few months. She missed Konoha dearly, but there were far worse places to be than Cìen. It was a little too cold for her tastes, but it was cute and peaceful. If she could just get over her silly feelings of attraction, she had no doubt that she and Deidara could live together for a few months without killing each other. It's what she had wanted anyway, she had to admit; the chance to be around Deidara for a while longer. She'd gotten what she'd wished for, so there was no sense in agonizing over it.

Quashing her newfound feelings for Deidara shouldn't prove too difficult either, Sakura thought. She tried to reason with herself that he was the same as he'd always been, only now with nice clothes. He was still annoying, arrogant, and sometimes downright mean. He wasn't the sort of guy to show to your parents, and they'd eventually have to go their separate ways. Not to mention he looked kind of like a girl. The desire she felt made absolutely no sense. Clearly she just wasn't thinking properly today.

In an effort to convince herself of this, she dared a glance over at him. Deidara's blond hair was starting to escape his ponytail. Blinking hard against the effects of the onion he was dicing, he launched into a tirade against the kitchen knives which were far too dull in his opinion. Sakura couldn't help but smile.

Distressed by her own traitorous and involuntary facial expression, Sakura turned her attention quickly back to the pile of dishes in the sink. So maybe it wasn't going to be so easy to deny her feelings. Sakura wondered what was wrong with her.You do always go for the wrong sort, her inner self reminded her, much to her annoyance.

Barely noticing that the frying pan she'd been cleaning for the past few minutes was now spotless, Sakura sighed with resignation. If she wanted to be completely honest with herself, perhaps she had been drawn to Deidara ever since they'd stopped being outright enemies. In the past though, the situation had been too chaotic for her to give the matter any real attention. Now that her mind was idle and not focused entirely on securing basic necessities, frivolous thoughts could be allowed to surface.

Sakura frowned to herself. For her own good, she decided, she needed to put Deidara back into the category of 'friends _only_'. If he would just stop wearing such well-fitting jeans maybe she could put this out of her mind. She was certain that she would laugh at herself later for being so silly. And really, how hard could it be to ignore Deidara? She'd had plenty of practice.

Buried in her thoughts, Sakura turned on the faucet absentmindedly to rinse the dishes. Her hands worked automatically, and she didn't notice that she'd cranked the hot water to full until she plunged her hands under it.

"_Ouch_!" With a gasp she drew her hand back from the scalding water. Clenching her teeth, she hissed in pain. Her fingers sported a worrying shade of red where they'd been burned. In her state of shock, Sakura's first reaction was what came naturally to her. After years of practice she almost didn't need to think as she channeled chakra towards the burned skin.

"What are you doing?!" Deidara demanded as he grabbed Sakura's hand in his own, causing the blue glow of medical chakra to fade abruptly. Startled, Sakura looked up at him, uncomprehending. "We can't use chakra, remember? You want to send this country's ninja after us too, yeah?"

Eyes locked with his, Sakura made no reply as Deidara squeezed her hand almost painfully. "We have to pass as ordinary people here, yeah! That means no chakra. At all. What would happen if someone walked in and saw it?" Finally loosening his grip but not releasing her hand, he asked, "Are you alright?"

Sakura nodded weakly, unable to look away from him and perfectly aware that he was holding her hand for longer than necessary. His face revealed little, but his eyes were a mixture of anger, concern, and something she was unwilling to place.

As his gaze swept downwards, over her lips, Sakura froze. It was only an instant, but when his eyes flicked back up to meet her own, Sakura felt her world crumble. She could no longer deny it; this inconvenient attraction had been in the making for a long time. Somewhere along their journey, somewhere between all that had happened – enmity, confusion, escape, friendship, desperation, relief – they had found in each other something they were still reluctant to see.

In the aftermath of her realization, Sakura knew only two things for certain: Deidara had nice eyes, and she was _so screwed_.


	13. Chapter 13

**Title:** Somewhere I Have Never Travelled, Gladly Beyond  
**Fandom:** Naruto  
**Type:** Multi-chaptered  
**Rating:** Pg-13  
**Pairings:** Deidara/Sakura  
**Word count:** 7,902  
**Summary:** Naruto had been bragging all day that his new jutsu was his best yet. Sakura and her new situation beg to differ. Post time-skip. DeiSaku.

**A/N:** Thanks once again to all reviewers – I love hearing your feedback! This is a big chapter, both in length and… Well, you'll just have to see.

* * *

"Here it is," announced the innkeeper, who had introduced herself as Paola. She extended a hand towards the house in front of them.

On second thought, Sakura wasn't sure it could be called a house. More of a cottage. Or even… A quick glance over at Deidara – his mouth pressed thin and clearly unimpressed – reassured her that she wasn't the only one to think the small building resembled someone's abandoned shed.

The tiny building was squished against the side of a larger house. The shutters were gone, except for one whose hinges hung by only a nail, and the peeling paint along the siding wavered in the wind. Sakura stared at the roof for a moment before realizing that yes, it was very much slanting worryingly to one side.

"Let's look inside." Sakura winced; she hadn't intended so much hesitation to creep into her voice.

"I know it doesn't look like much," Paola said as she struggled with the key and rusty lock, "But you're actually quite lucky I was able to find this for you. Housing can be hard to find here in Cìen. I happened to mention your situation to my cousin and she suggested this. The previous renters left just before the winter and she has been looking for tenants ever since. It comes with some basic necessities – pots, pans, bedding, and the like – and my cousin, Chimène, is even willing to give you a discount on the rent."

"That's nice of her, yeah," Deidara remarked with a bit too much sarcasm as they went inside. Sakura shot him a warning glare – it would be best not to start on wrong terms with their landlady.

"So what do you think?" The woman asked as they stepped into the front room, their boots leaving footprints in the dust that covered the wooden floor. "This is the kitchen – it can also work nicely as a sitting room in a pinch. That door leads to a bedroom, and the other one to a washroom."

Sakura swallowed hard, trying unsuccessfully to rid her mouth of the taste of stale air. The room was bare except for an old table, two chairs, and the smallest, most pathetic kitchen set-up. The plaster on the walls was chipped and discoloured, and the bedroom door was missing. The overhead light flickered occasionally and emitted a strange buzzing noise.

"There's even a bed, and the shower should get hot water." Paola smiled and rubbed her hands together. "So? Will you take it?"

Sakura exchanged a skeptical look with Deidara before he shrugged, resigned. "It's not like we have much of a choice, yeah."

"Excellent!" From Paola's tone, Sakura had the impression that they had just done her a great favour. "Chimène will come by at the end of each month to collect the rent." Fixing Deidara with a stern look, she told him, "So you'd best find yourself a job soon, young man."

With that, she bid them good-day and left with a cheerful grin. When she'd gone, Deidara sighed and turned towards Sakura. "Why is it up to _me_ to get a job, yeah?"

She ran a finger across the surface of the table, frowning as it came away with a layer of dust, before explaining dryly, "Because in traditional societies the male role in the household is that of the breadwinner."

With a snort, Deidara slumped into one of the chairs, which creaked distressingly. "Why do I suspect that if _I_ would have said that, you would've punched me?"

"You know me too well." She grinned at him and tried the faucet on the kitchen sink. The water that spluttered out was brown and murky. "Don't worry though – I'll find a job too."

"Let me guess," Deidara said as he got up from the chair and made his way into the bedroom, "You're going to find work as a doctor, yeah."

"Of course." She followed after him, hoping in vain that the bedroom would somehow be nicer than the kitchen. "Even though I use chakra a lot in healing, I've had basic training as well. I should be able to pass as a nurse or assistant healer. Medical personnel are pretty much always in demand –"

Sakura's words were cut off as she stepped into the bedroom, where Deidara had stretched out across the bed. The one double bed. It had never been a problem before, but her sudden awareness of the way his shirt threatened to ride upwards, revealing a sliver of skin and the barest shadow of a hipbone just above the low waistline of his jeans, twisted the thought of sleeping next to him into all new possibilities. Sakura felt an odd curl of emotion in her belly.

"I don't even think this mattress has springs anymore, yeah. If I sink any further into it I'll drown."

Brought back from her reverie by his words, Sakura turned away to hide the blush staining her cheeks. "Come on, we've got to clean this place up as best as we can today."

It was a lost cause though, she knew. No matter how much she devoted herself to cleaning and repairing their new home, it wouldn't be nearly enough of a distraction.

* * *

The first light of dawn poured freely through the shutter-less window in the bedroom. Sakura groaned. Between the ancient mattress and the torture that her body had put her through as she'd curled up with Deidara against the chilly night, she'd hardly managed to sleep at all.

Sakura stood up and stretched her back, tempted to relieve its aches with chakra. A quick glance back at the bed revealed that Deidara was still asleep, sprawled out as usual. Sakura watched him for a moment, intrigued at how he managed to sleep in positions that looked like they would actually be quite uncomfortable. A few pieces of blond hair lay across his face and fluttered with each breath.

Before she could stop herself, Sakura reached out to brush away the stray strands of hair. The sensation of her fingertips across smooth skin, no matter how light and brief the contact, sent a shiver low in her spine.

Sakura withdrew her hand abruptly and all but fled from the room. She jammed her feet into her boots and was still trying to find the armholes of her coat as she dashed out the front door. The cool morning air helped clear her mind and she shook her head to rid herself of the last vestiges of sleep, among other things. Sakura took a deep breath, feeling the cold air burn her throat.

Now was not the time to be feeling like she'd just hit puberty, she reminded herself. The rollercoaster of teenage hormones was well past. She was just being silly. At her age, she should be completely capable of controlling this ridiculous infatuation, no matter how long it had been in the making and no matter how badly she wanted to kiss Deidara absolutely senseless. Sakura grimaced as tempting images flooded her mind at that thought. What she should really be concentrating on was finding a job so they could actually have something to eat that night.

Squaring her shoulders and forcing all thoughts of infuriating smirks and blue eyes out of her mind, Sakura set off to find the town's clinic. With the exception of a handful of shopkeepers setting up stands, the early morning streets were largely deserted. After a few inquiries, Sakura found herself standing in front of a rundown house, almost indistinguishable from the others on the street. The paint was faded, but the symbol of a medical cross was still discernable above the door.

Taking a deep breath, Sakura rapped her knuckles sharply against the wooden door and waited. When no one answered after a few minutes, she tried again, harder. Just as she raised her hand for a third try, the door swung open.

The older woman who answered came only up to Sakura's shoulders. She had dark hair that was streaked with grey and wound tightly into a bun. Along with the thin, angular style of glasses she wore, her face had a decidedly severe look about it. Sakura could tell by the dark, almond-shaped eyes and hint of high cheekbones that she had perhaps been beautiful once, but time had not to been kind to her. The woman scowled and wrapped her shawl tightly around her shoulders as she spoke quickly in her own language.

At Sakura's look of confusion, the woman narrowed her eyes and tried again. "I said: this had better be an emergency. I don't start work until eight."

Mentally smacking herself for not waiting until a more reasonable hour, Sakura gathered her courage. It was slightly disturbing how such a tiny woman could radiate such power and authority. Sakura swallowed nervously and all thoughts of eloquence vanished. "I want to work for you," she blurted without preamble.

The woman's eyebrows raised slightly, more in exasperation than surprise. "I don't take apprentices," she said and closed the door.

In a panic, Sakura managed to wedge her hand painfully between the door and its frame before it slammed shut in her face. "Please!" she pleaded with the woman, aware of how desperate she sounded. "Please – I've just arrived in town and I don't have any money. I'm not looking to be an apprentice, I just need a job. You won't have to teach me anything. I've had a lot of experience and trained under the lead healer of my village. Please give me a try, even if it's just for a day!"

The door crept open again and the woman fixed her with a piercing gaze. After a long moment, she asked, "Can you treat frostbite?"

Sakura nodded weakly, cursing herself for being so easily unbalanced. "Y-yes."

The woman grabbed Sakura by the arm and pulled her inside the house as she closed the door irritably. "Fine. You have one day to show me you're worth having around, much less paying." She stalked over to a large cabinet on the wall and threw it open. "All supplies are kept in here, but you're not to touch the herbs on the top shelf – they're too expensive. There's some more general stuff in the closet over there – mostly for cleaning, which you'll be doing. You'll also handle the minor cases that come in. You're to greet the patients – the ones that speak your language at least – and get them registered, but I'll take care of the payment. You'll be responsible for delivering medicine to bed-ridden patients and you'll run all other errands for me. If you're still here at the end of the day we'll discuss future arrangements. What's your name?"

Caught off guard by the sudden question, Sakura hesitated before replying, "Err… Sakura?"

The older woman set her mouth in a thin line and peered at Sakura from over the rims of her spectacles, before turning to march up the nearby stairs. "Patients won't start coming for another half hour. I'm going back to sleep."

Stunned at the unexpected reception, Sakura took a moment to compose herself and absorb her surroundings. The clinic was small and clearly very old, but it was tidy. A few chairs were lined up by the entrance, presumably for waiting patients. The large cabinet full of medical supplies hung beside the desk, which was bare except for a thick account book. Aside from a closet and the stairs that led to the upper level of the house, the only other remarkable aspect of the clinic was the nearby door that led to an examination room.

With a deep sigh, Sakura forced down her feelings of discouragement and prepared herself for the trials of the day.

* * *

"Your child has a cold. A plain old ordinary cold. There's nothing I can do about it. Go home, have him rest, and make sure everyone else in your house washes their hands more often to avoid catching it too." The healer all but pushed the last customers, a woman and her child, out the door.

"Parents these days," she grumbled to herself when they'd left, "There's no cure for the common cold. Never has been and never will be. Do they think I work magic or something?"

Sakura finished mopping the floors and felt as though she were about to collapse. She hadn't had a moment of peace all day – there was always something that needed to be cleaned or delivered. On top of that, a steady stream of patients with everything from athlete's foot to broken bones had poured into the small clinic since it opened. Without the use of chakra, treatment of even the most minor problems was a long and difficult affair. The hospitals in Konoha were busy, but everyone had a specialized task which helped make the day run smoothly. Here in the little clinic, however, it all seemed far too much for only two people to handle.

Lightheaded, Sakura sat down in one of the waiting room's chairs. Aside from an apple – "Keeps the doctor away," the woman had told her, straight-faced – Sakura hadn't eaten all day. Her feet ached and even though the clinic was kept fairly cold, she could feel that she'd worked up a sweat.

"You there, girl." The older woman's voice snapped Sakura back to reality. "Come here."

An uncomfortable knot formed in her chest. It was time for judgment. Sakura stood carefully, fighting off a dizzy spell, and went to stand in front of the desk, behind which the healer was seated.

The woman gave her an appraising look and Sakura had to make a conscious effort not to shift uneasily. After a long moment, the healer asked, "You're one of the two who came to town the other day, aren't you?"

"Yes," Sakura replied, surprised. "How did you --"

The woman interrupted her with a wave of her hand. "Cìen's not very big – word of interesting newcomers spreads fast. Especially when they have the most bizarre hair colours. Your's is quite remarkable, to say the least, but even your boyfriend's is one we don't see around here very often."

"He's not my boyfriend," Sakura corrected with a blush.

The woman appeared not to have heard her comment and continued, "But I suppose I can overlook your strange appearance if you keep working like you did today. Or was it too much for you to handle?"

Sakura's aching body cried out that it was indeed too much, but she ignored its complaints. She could handle it, if only because she needed the money. "No, it's fine."

The woman narrowed her eyes, and Sakura wondered if she was ever in a good mood – it would certainly make work more tolerable. Memories of Tsunade and Shizune rushed back, causing her swallow hard against feelings of nostalgia. "In that case, I'll expect you here again tomorrow at eight o'clock sharp. No sooner than that, but you had better not be late." The woman withdrew a handful of coins from her money pouch, carefully counted out a sum, and handed them to Sakura. "Here's your pay for today. Go get yourself something to eat."

"Thank you," Sakura said, and wondered exactly how much food the money could buy her. Unfamiliar with the currency, she had no idea how much she was being paid.

Sakura was just about to leave when the woman made an unexpected movement. Holding out her hand towards Sakura, she said, "Now that I've seen you're worthy of working for me, you may call me Alvara."

Sakura blinked, momentarily stunned. Recovering quickly, she reached out to shake the woman's hand, whose grip was deceptively strong. "I'm please to meet you, Alvara." Sakura winced at her awkward pronunciation of the name.

"Just roll the 'r' a bit more and you've got it," Alvara told her, and Sakura could have sworn that the faintest trace of a smile pulled at her perpetual frown.

* * *

A quick stop at a grocer's stall revealed that Alvara was perhaps not as stingy as she appeared. Even after buying a basketful of food, Sakura still had a few copper coins left over. All the better, she thought as she remembered her dismal new home. She could certainly do with some extra spending money to help clean the place up.

Despite its dreary appearance, Sakura was nonetheless glad when she arrived home. Her feet, already aching from the tiring day, couldn't take much more of the hard cobblestone streets. Looking forward to collapsing on the bed, she pushed open the wooden door and was greeted by an unexpected surprise. The floors that had been covered with dust the night before were now spotless and even the old kitchen appliances seemed to be tinged a less dreary shade of yellow. Shirt sleeves rolled up and hair tied back, Deidara scrubbed at the countertop with a rag.

"Hey," he called over his shoulder as Sakura placed her purchases on the wooden table.

"I could get used to this," she remarked as she lowered herself into a chair. Kicking off her shoes and sliding out of her coat, she sighed contentedly. "Am I going to come home to a nicely cleaned house every day?"

"Since when did I become a housewife, yeah?" Grinning, Deidara tossed the rag into the sink and pulled up a chair beside her. "I'm never doing this again, by the way. Do you have any idea how dirty this place actually was?" He reached out and pulled the basket of food closer, poking through the contents. "You got a lot of stuff, yeah. I take it you found a good job?"

"I definitely found a job, but you'd never believe the day I had to go through." She rubbed her eyes wearily and leaned back, but thought better of it when the chair creaked loudly. "The healer, Alvara… I think I would rather face a team of jounin than get her angry. I have no idea how she can be so intimidating when she's at least a head shorter than me."

"That bad, yeah?" Deidara asked as he pulled an oddly shaped fruit out of the basket and bit into it experimentally.

"You have no idea." She gave a tragic face, knowing she was exaggerating. It was perfectly fine by her though, she could do with some sympathy. Her hopes were misplaced, she realized with a frown, as a glance over at Deidara revealed that he was more interested in the tasty fruit he was munching on rather than her complaints.

At the thought of food her stomach sent her a sharp pain, reminding her that she had hardly eaten during the day. As she leaned forward in her chair to examine the contents of the basket, her leg brushed against Deidara's. Her reaction was so sudden that she had no chance to mask it. A shiver ran all the way down to her toes and she could feel the hairs on the back of her neck stand on end. Eyes wide and unable to help herself, Sakura's gaze locked with his for an instant before they both looked away hurriedly, shifting their legs under the table so they no longer touched.

She was failing miserably at hiding her emotions, Sakura knew. How much more obvious could she be? Flustered, she cast about for a conversation topic to cover her reaction. "So… What else did you get up to today? Any luck with finding a job?"

He shrugged, the tension in his shoulders belying the unease that lay beneath the casual gesture. "I took a look around in the afternoon but didn't find much, yeah."

Sakura's heart fell. She wasn't keen on being their small household's only source of income. "Nothing at all?"

Absentmindedly licking his fingers clean from the remnants of fruit, he explained, "There was one place that sounded interesting – a guy down by the docks who makes fireworks."

"Why would you work for a place that makes _fireworks_?"

"Because art is a bang," he told her with a grin.

"You're such a dork." She rolled her eyes at him. "So why didn't it work out?"

"The guy wasn't looking for an apprentice, yeah. And he was too much of a dick anyway, I'd never be able to work with him."

Unable to help herself, she felt a smirk creep across her face. "They do say people with similar personalities don't get along well."

He glared at her before waving a hand in dismissal. "Whatever, yeah. Point is, it didn't work out."

"So I take it you're going to try looking around again tomorrow?" Sakura ventured.

"No."

Quick to anger as always, she felt her jaw tighten and hands curl into fists. "Why not?"

"I don't really think I'm cut out for working, yeah," he replied simply, as though the answer was both obvious and acceptable.

Although she had foreseen this and in all honesty couldn't say she saw Deidara as the sort who wouldn't murder his coworkers, his response made her blood boil. The stress from her hard day at work had taken its toll and Sakura all but exploded at him, "That's no excuse! You think I want to work either? We don't have a choice! And I refuse to be the only one out slaving away while you just laze around and leech off my pay!"

Resting his elbows on the table, seemingly unconcerned by Sakura's mounting rage, Deidara said, "Relax, yeah. I didn't say I wasn't going to be making money. I'm just not getting a job."

It took all of her willpower to rein in her temper enough to ask with the barest semblance of calm, "And how do you plan on doing that?"

"First I need a bit of money from you, yeah."

That was the last straw. Her chair almost toppled over as she stood up, slamming a fist against the table. "_No way_. No way am I giving anything! I was out working all day for this money, and what did you do?"

"What did I do?" His temper snapping as well, Deidara stood up, raising his voice. Squaring her shoulders, Sakura resented their difference in height. "I cleaned this whole place up, yeah! It wasn't like I just slept all day or something!"

"That doesn't make you entitled to --"

"-- Who said anything about entitled? I just need a bit of money to --"

"-- To waste on things, I'm sure!"

"More like to get supplies so I can start painting. People will pay for that sort of thing, you know!"

She blinked as what he had said registered. Her rage evaporating, she sat back down at the table. "You should have said so sooner."

"I was trying to, yeah." Still seething, he sank back into his chair and crossed his arms.

Sakura sighed, suddenly even more exhausted than before. "So you're going to do some work as an artist? I probably should have seen that coming."

"Not an artist, a _painter_."

"It's the same thing, isn't it? You could probably make some of those clay statues and sell them too."

Judging by the expression on his face, Sakura's suggestion might well have been the most blasphemous thing he'd ever heard. "_I am not selling my art_, yeah!"

Confused, Sakura attempted to figure out how a painting was any different from a statue. "Well they wouldn't have to explode, of course."

His face somewhere between pained and appalled, Deidara explained, "Look, paintings are just paintings. I can sell those. But my art is something else – you can't put a price on it."

Still perplexed, Sakura decided to leave it at that. She'd always known he was a bit odd. "_Okay_. So you're going to _paint_ and sell the _paintings_. That makes sense." One little detail gnawed at the back of her mind though. She narrowed her eyes. "You _can_ paint well enough to sell, right?"

"Let me borrow some money and you can judge for yourself."

"Fair enough." Defeated, she reached into a pocket and withdrew the last remaining coins she'd received from her day at work.

Taking them from her, he said with a weak laugh, "I can't believe you honestly thought I would just live as a charity case. I know I'd be out on the streets if I tried that with you. And besides, what kind of a guy do you think I am, yeah?"

Sakura fixed him with a pointed look.

He grimaced. "On second thought, don't answer that. Seriously though, I just need a bit of money to buy some paints and canvas and that sort of thing. I'll pay you back, yeah." He flashed her a grin and Sakura was almost ashamed to feel her heart do a little somersault in her chest.

"You'd better," she threatened, but knew the words were empty. _He'd better or what?_, Inner Sakura asked with a laugh, _You'll jump him?_ Sakura clenched her teeth and pushed aside her annoyingly truthful inner self. "I can't be the only one bringing in money here."

"Don't worry, yeah. People will always pay for this sort of thing. I just need to do some landscapes or sketch the harbour and they'll eat it up. It's almost sad." Sakura tuned him out and turned her attention to the basket of food on the table as Deidara started to ramble about the tragedy that true art was neglected in favour of frivolous images without meaning.

"I tried to buy enough food to make a few decent meals," Sakura said, realizing belatedly that she'd interrupted Deidara's art tirade, "But I'm at a loss for what to make for dinner. I'm not the best cook," she admitted while stifling a yawn, "And I'm so tired after today that I don't feel like making anything."

As Sakura seriously considered just eating a few raw vegetables and calling it a night, Deidara eyed her suspiciously. "If you think I'm cooking you dinner, you're sadly mistaken, yeah."

"I wouldn't trust you to cook anyway," she scoffed. "Somehow I don't see Akatsuki as master chefs."

Indignant, he narrowed his eyes at the perceived challenge. "I'll bet I'm better than _you_ at least, yeah."

Sakura had to drown her giggles in a coughing fit as Deidara turned on the stove and began preparing their meal – that had been far too easy.

* * *

"Your boyfriend's down at the harbour again," Alvara commented as she stepped into the clinic, returning from a house-call.

"He's not my boyfriend," Sakura corrected automatically, knowing by now that it was useless to dissuade the older woman otherwise.

"Can't say I approve of that one," she said with a sniff and adjusted her spectacles, "He's off painting all day while you're here caring for the sick and injured and earning a living. Why doesn't he get a real job?"

Sakura didn't bother to reply as she ushered an elderly man from the waiting area to the examination room. After a week working under Cìen's healer, she knew she'd get nowhere arguing with her. Sakura was certain that deep down Alvara had a good heart, but she certainly hid it well behind a thick layer of criticism and impossibly high standards.

Taking a seat at her desk, the older woman scribbled notes in the account book and continued, "He should be off working in a factory or helping repair boats before the spring. What use are a bunch of colours on paper to anyone? No one's going to buy that sort of rubbish."

Sakura winced as the words hit home. Deidara had as of yet to complete a painting, and Sakura was beginning to worry that his contributions to their income were still a long way off. He had assured her that he would have a piece finished soon and she'd given him the benefit of the doubt, if only because his cursedly attractive blue eyes succeeded in disarming her every time.

Feeling she had to at least make an effort to defend Deidara, she said, "He's a good artist – painter, I mean."

"So you've seen one of his works?" Alvara asked as she made her way over to the patient waiting in the adjacent room. When Sakura hesitated to respond, the healer gave her a look that radiated superiority and closed the door behind her.

The rest of the day passed as usual and Sakura was kept busy with patients complaining of what seemed to be every possible ailment, but she couldn't help but worry over what Alvara had said. Maybe she was right. Maybe Deidara was wasting his time, and Sakura her money.

When at last the day was over and she made her way home, Sakura took a deep breath before she pushed open the door. They couldn't keep living only on what she brought home each day. It was enough to cover the cost of food, but they needed other necessities too. She would have to confront Deidara about his progress.

She had barely stepped into the house, however, when she was surprised by Deidara who pressed a box into her hands. Sakura took in his cheerful expression and raised her eyebrows. "You seem happy today."

He grinned widely and Sakura had to make an effort not to melt into a pile of jelly made of teenage infatuation. "I am, yeah. Open it."

Lifting off the top part of the box, Sakura pulled out a cute pink and white striped v-neck sweater. "I love it!" she exclaimed, unable to conceal her feelings. If possible, Deidara's face broke into an even bigger smile. Certain that her own face was glowing from a blush, Sakura asked curiously, "But where did you get the money for it?"

"How do you know I bought it?"

Sakura groaned. "We're supposed to be keeping a low profile. You can't go around stea-"

Deidara burst out laughing. "I was joking, yeah." At Sakura's doubtful expression, he continued, "I didn't steal it, I promise."

That was slightly reassuring, but Sakura's question was still unanswered. "So how did you manage to pay for it?" The money she'd been giving him certainly wasn't.

"How do you think, yeah?" He couldn't sound more pleased with himself. "I've been working on a painting of the harbour for the past week – you know, in front of the bar we went to with that old man. I was just finishing it up today when the owner of the bar came out and asked to buy it, yeah. He wasn't stingy with the price either."

"That's wonderful!" Sakura looked down at the sweater he'd given her, feeling bad that she'd doubted him earlier. "I almost wish I could've seen the painting before you sold it though."

"I've got another one I'm working on, yeah. Let me go get it," he told her before disappearing into the bedroom for a moment.

When he reemerged and presented a canvas to her, Sakura felt her mouth form a small 'o'. The painting was incomplete, but it was nonetheless quite good. Exceptional even, she had to admit. It was a simple view of the harbour, but the subtle shading and luminescence of the oil paint made her almost believe she could feel the sea breeze against her skin.

"Good, yeah?" he asked, exuding confidence. Sakura could do nothing but nod in agreement. "Now go put on that shirt and we're going out for dinner."

She blinked. "We're what?"

"We're going out for dinner," he repeated. "The man from the bar paid a lot, so we might as well put the money to good use, yeah. Besides, I don't think I can handle your cooking again."

Ignoring the jibe, Sakura considered his proposal. Although her rational side told her they should put the money towards fixing up their draughty old house, she had to agree. "We definitely deserve a night of celebration after all we've been through."

"Exactly," he said, taking her by the shoulders and steering her towards the bedroom, "Now go put on the sweater because I'm not being seen with you in that awful red thing."

"Don't tell me that's the only reason you bought it," Sakura called over her shoulder as he left her alone in the room.

"Of course it is, yeah."

Sakura shook her head in disbelief, but changed into the new shirt anyway. The sweater felt a bit snug, but judging by the stretchy fabric she guessed that was how it was supposed to be. Tugging a strand of her hair forwards, Sakura noticed that its colour was an uncanny match to the shirt.

Wishing fervently that the house had a mirror so she could see how she looked, Sakura stepped back out into the kitchen and tugged at one of her sleeves self-consciously. "Well? What do you think?"

"You look… really good, yeah." It didn't escape Sakura's notice that Deidara's gaze lingered a little too long.

Shamelessly basking in the ego boost from his attention, she shrugged her coat over her shoulders. She cleared her throat to draw his attention back up to where it should be. "So where do you want to go for dinner?"

His cheeks turned a slight shade of pink as he realized he'd been caught staring. "I've already got the place picked out, yeah. Made sure to get reservations and everything since it seems kind of fancy."

Sakura almost tripped at his words. Not only had he bought her a gift – for selfish reasons she didn't entirely believe – but he'd also made reservations? Impressive, Inner Sakura whistled. Some of her dates in Konoha hadn't even done the same.

_Dates_.

Sakura felt her face flush. Was that was this was? A date? She glanced over at Deidara, but his loose blond hair hid his expression as he busied himself with buttoning up his coat. Her heart beat rapidly in her chest as she remembered him staring, remembered all the little glances they'd exchanged, the physical contact between them that made her shiver and him pull away, the teasing kiss, the flirting…

Sakura bit her lip. Now that she thought about it, they _had_ flirted almost constantly throughout their adventures together. She hadn't realized it at the time, of course, but looking back it was glaringly obvious. And it hadn't only been her either – he was just as guilty. He'd even kissed her, after all. As Sakura pieced together events that had happened between them, she suddenly had far more than a slight suspicion that she wasn't the only one holding concealed feelings.

As they made to step outside, Deidara held the door open for her and gave a mock bow. "Ladies first, yeah."

"Why thank you, sir." They both grinned at the sound of her ridiculously fake posh accent.

As Deidara struggled with the rusty keys to the house, Sakura took the delay to compose herself. Drawing in a deep breath of the chilly evening air, she decided to put her theory to the test. Patience wasn't one of her virtues – she wanted to know if she was right. Besides, there was no reason not to; she had nothing to lose. If he reacted poorly, she could always pass it off as teasing. But if he didn't…

Finally winning the battle against the door's decrepit lock, Deidara turned back towards her. Certain that she was using all her reserves of courage for the next few months, Sakura hooked her arm around his and arched an eyebrow at him playfully as she pressed herself close. "Shall we?"

The effect was immediate. He tensed, his breath caught in his throat, and even in the dark Sakura could see a blush appear across his face. Her own eyes widened involuntarily.

_She was right._

Almost unable to believe her realization, she stayed arm-in-arm with Deidara on their way to the restaurant. He relaxed after a while, his good mood returning, and shifted his arm so that Sakura rested more comfortably against him. Sakura struck up a light-hearted conversation, although her mind was more occupied with other matters.

What should she do now? All signals indicated that she wasn't the only one with a crush -- probably hadn't been the only one for a while. She felt silly for not having noticed earlier; Deidara wasn't good at hiding his emotions. Did she pursue this attraction? Her inner self agreed enthusiastically with that suggestion, but Sakura wasn't so sure. Starting something with a former enemy was just about the worst possible idea for a relationship she could imagine.

But as they walked through the dark streets, snow falling gently around them, and Deidara he gave his usual charming smiles, Sakura found she didn't really care. All the complicated feelings between them had been in the making for far too long to resist them now. Her new understanding that she wasn't the only one who felt this way only emboldened her further. Perhaps she was just punch-drunk from her discovery, she thought, but what harm could a little more flirting be? After all, they were _both_ enjoying it.

When they arrived at the restaurant, Deidara once again held open the door for her. She had no doubt that the gesture was more playful than gallant, but Sakura gave him a smile and looked up at him through her eyelashes, exactly the way Ino had taught her. "Thank you."

He narrowed his eyes slightly and Sakura looked away. He was onto her, she knew, uncertain as to whether or not that was a good thing. It made her heart race all the same.

The dim lighting and red walls of the interior of the restaurant were decidedly classy, and Sakura worried for a moment that they were underdressed. Casually glancing into one of the many decorative mirrors, she brushed back a few loose strands of hair and smoothed out her shirt. She gave her reflection a smile – her new clothes looked _good_ on her.

A waiter in the lobby area nodded at them to follow him. As they wove their way through the other tables, picking up snippets of low conversation from the other patrons, Sakura's hand brushed accidentally against Deidara's. He raised his eyebrows at her, and she found herself almost wishing she'd done it on purpose. As they arrived at their table, she felt Deidara brush a hand lightly against her lower back. The sensation of the contact sent a tremor through her spine. She glanced up at him, startled.

_Two can play at this game_, his expression said clearly as he smirked at her. Narrowing her eyes, Sakura smirked right back at him. _They can indeed_.

They settled into their seats and looked over the menu. Pretending to be absorbed in the selection of her meal, she stole a glance across the table at Deidara. Her gaze met with his and they both looked back down abruptly. In an effort to cover the huge grin she knew was plastered across her face, Sakura held the menu up higher. It was only then that she realized the entire thing was written in a language she didn't understand.

Feeling thoroughly silly, they both lowered their menus and tried to stifle giggles. "I guess we'll just get whatever the special is tonight?" Sakura offered, her attempts to be seductive momentarily ruined.

As it happened, the evening's special was a seafood dish. Sakura wrinkled her nose. She wasn't particularly fond of fish, but she figured it wouldn't be a bad idea to try the local specialties. They were in a port town after all.

The waiter brought them both a glass of white wine, explaining in his broken English that it went well with their order and, not to worry, was included in the special. Sakura picked up her glass, admiring the delicate crystal, and sniffed at the wine. The light aroma was appealing, and she thought it smelled faintly of fresh pears. "I don't usually drink," she told Deidara.

"Neither do I, yeah," he admitted. Sakura wasn't surprised – life as one of the most wanted criminals in the bingo book probably didn't leave much time for relaxation.

"We should have a toast to something though," she suggested, raising her glass. "How about: To our grand adventures, past and future?"

"I'll drink to that." He raised his glass and touched its rim lightly against hers.

Sakura took a sip of the wine. The taste was soft and fruity, but she could feel the slight bite of alcohol on her tongue. Unused to the taste, she wasn't sure if she liked it or not. Her next experiment was the dish in front of her, piled high with seafood. She picked up one of the many forks set beside her plate and twirled it in her fingers. It was oddly small and only had two prongs.

"That one's for the shellfish," Deidara pointed out as he noticed her hesitation.

"I see," Sakura said, hoping her awkwardness with the strange utensil wasn't entirely visible. Since Konoha was landlocked, the only experience she'd had with seafood was in the form of sushi or ramen flavours. Poking at a strange red carapace, she wondered if it was edible.

"Use this to crack it open, yeah," Deidara laughed and handed her something Sakura swore was a surgical instrument.

"How do you know all this?" she asked, struggling with the hard shell but finally managing to break it open.

Deidara paused before answering, as though wondering if he should tell her. "The hidden village I'm originally from… It was in a coastal region in the north. We ate this sort of thing all the time."

Sakura opened her mouth to ask which hidden village in particular, but stopped short. It wasn't the sort of thing she should ask, and besides, she was beginning to find that she didn't really care about the past.

They continued to make small-talk and Deidara teased her incessantly about her clumsiness with the strange new utensils. Sakura began to figure out the little tricks needed to eat seafood and found that it wasn't quite as gross as she'd previously imagined. They laughed and smiled at each other, and Sakura admired the way the soft lighting glanced off Deidara's hair, turning it a rich gold colour. The wine was just enough to warm her all the way to her toes, but still allow her to keep her head.

The evening was pleasant, but ripe with an unbearable tension; they both knew their attraction wasn't one-sided. Their legs brushed under the table but neither of them made any effort to move away. Deidara flashed her a particularly enticing smile, and Sakura felt her heart skip a beat. In retaliation, when they were served sorbet for dessert, she licked her spoon clean ever so slowly, reveling in the way his gaze was drawn helplessly towards her action.

When they'd finished their dinner and paid the bill, Deidara helped her into her coat. The gesture wasn't out of kindness or any sense of tradition, Sakura realized as she felt him brush a hand softly across the back of her neck, sweeping her short hair over the collar of her jacket. Still warm from the wine and snug in her coat, Sakura nonetheless felt goose-bumps rise along her arms.

As they stepped outside, Deidara slid an arm around her waist, drawing her close. Sakura swallowed hard. This gesture was different than before, direct and assertive, nowhere near their previous teasing, furtive touches. It wasn't that it was unwelcome, Sakura thought as she leaned into him, but it was a clear signal that their game had evolved. "What are you playing at?" she asked, her voice low.

"_I'm_ playing at something, yeah?" His usual smirk was in place, but Sakura couldn't read his eyes.

Halfway back home, they turned onto a small side street, bordered on both sides by brick walls. A thin layer of snow caused the cobblestones to glisten under the moonlight, and Sakura found it all very picturesque. The alley was quiet, except for the muffled sound of their footsteps. In the stillness of the night, Sakura tried to sift through her thoughts over the sound of her beating heart.

They were both interested, that much was undeniable. Sakura couldn't pinpoint exactly when their feelings had become so tangled together, but by now there was no way to extricate themselves. The situation could only end in disaster, she knew. They already fought enough as friends, it would only be infinitely worse if they became more than that. Even if they pursued something and it miraculously managed to work, they'd still have to go back to their old roles as enemies once they reached the Fire Country. The whole idea made _absolutely no sense_.

Of course, humans are never logical beings, and Sakura was to discover this soon enough.

As she tried to decide what to do about the situation, Sakura was only vaguely aware that Deidara's hand resting against her waist had begun to trace the curve of her hip. It was only when he ventured lower that she was shocked into full awareness.

"Deidara!" she exclaimed, snapped out of her thoughts by his bold actions. She gave him an incredulous glare but made no effort to remove his wandering hand. "You have got to be the most irritating person I have ever met!"

He only replied with his trademark smirk and an obnoxiously quirked eyebrow, and Sakura didn't know whether she wanted to kiss him or strangle him for it.

The choice was easy enough.

Acting purely on instinct, she grabbed Deidara by his scarf and pulled him down towards her into a kiss. Not a chaste one like what he'd given her before, but a kiss that spoke of all her frustrations, worries, fears and desires better than words ever could. Breaking away, she pushed him up against the wall of the alleyway, leaving him dazed. Feeling her face flush with emotion, she opened her mouth to tell him to stop toying with her.

She'd barely managed to find her voice before he pulled her close and returned her kiss with equal force.

With that, her world exploded into a great emotional inferno, but Sakura wouldn't have it any other way. Unable to stop long enough to make it the rest of the way home, they ripped at each others coat buttons, which tore away and fell unnoticed onto the cobblestones. Sakura's head slammed hard against the stone wall of the alley as Deidara reversed their positions, but that was fine by her because her hands wasted no time in discovering that he had been hiding some nice abs under his clothes. She could taste the metallic tinge of blood in her mouth but couldn't tell whose lips had been bitten. The cold air of the night bit at her exposed skin as Deidara tugged off her jacket, but Sakura couldn't have cared less; everything that had happened on their journey had been building towards this moment, and nothing was going to stop her from enjoying it. She squeezed her eyes shut and blocked out all thoughts of what this meant for the future.

As Deidara's hand stole unashamedly up into her shirt, rough fingers coaxing noises from her that would have been embarrassing in any other situation, Sakura wondered vaguely how badly this night would count as fraternizing with the enemy before she lost herself in the moment.


	14. Chapter 14

**Title:** Somewhere I Have Never Travelled, Gladly Beyond  
**Fandom:** Naruto  
**Type:** Multi-chaptered  
**Rating:** Pg-13  
**Pairings:** Deidara/Sakura  
**Word count:** 7,362  
**Summary:** Naruto had been bragging all day that his new jutsu was his best yet. Sakura and her new situation beg to differ. Post time-skip. DeiSaku.

* * *

Even from the start, Sakura held no illusions that this would be the romance of her dreams. The first thing she noticed the morning after wasn't a sense of fulfillment, sated physical desires, or even anything resembling romantic feelings. Instead, it was something she hadn't quite anticipated in her rather frenzied state the night before.

"Oh gods," she moaned as she awoke to what felt like a forest fire across her back. She rolled herself gently onto her stomach so as to ease the pain.

"I know it was good, yeah," said a smug voice beside her, "But I didn't think you'd still be saying that the next morning."

Cracking open an eye, she glared at Deidara. His face was plastered with an uncontrollably large grin that spoke volumes of their activities the night before. "Next time you get to be the one up against the wall," she told him.

"Sorry to ruin your fantasies, yeah, but it doesn't really work that way."

With a groan, she buried her face into her pillow and asked, muffled, "How bad is it anyway? My shoulders feel like there's no skin left on them."

As Deidara shifted beside her, Sakura had to resist the temptation to sneak a glance at him. After the events of last night she had no doubt that he had a body befitting a ninja – lean, powerful muscles and just the right amount of scars – but through a combination of the darkness and her attention focused more on their actual activities, she hadn't had the best view. She reminisced pleasantly for a moment before Deidara ran a hand across her injuries, making her wince. "Your back's all red – lots of scratches and cuts from the bricks. You might want to get this checked out by that healer you work with, yeah."

"And risk having to explain to her how it happened? No thank you." Sakura grimaced. She could imagine how that would go. As she wondered if she could sneak some ointment from the clinic without Alvara's knowledge, a persistent thought tugged at her mind. She turned her head to face Deidara, forcing herself to ignore his broad shoulders and well-defined chest. "What day is it?"

"Thursday?" He frowned and creased his eyebrows. "At least, I think it is."

Sakura squeezed her eyes shut, reluctant to ask her next question. "And what time is it?"

"We still don't have a clock, yeah. But it feels like it's around eight." Realization dawned on him as she let out a soft wail. Sakura lamented that his evil tendencies hadn't diminished -- sexual frustration wasn't at the base of them, apparently -- as he smirked and remarked, "_Someone's_ late for work."

With a mounting sensation of panic, Sakura threw her legs over the side of the bed and cast her frantic gaze about the room for her clothes. Spotting her jeans, which had been hastily discarded near the door, she moved to leave the comfort of the bed before a sudden thought caused her to freeze. Glancing back at Deidara, she asked hesitantly, "Could you maybe… turn around for a minute?"

He raised an eyebrow in question. "Why?"

Sakura swallowed nervously, feeling her face grow hot. "Because I'm… not wearing any clothes."

"So you have no qualms about risking getting busted for public indecency in an alleyway but you're suddenly shy in your own home, yeah?"

Sakura clenched her teeth and resented the way he was completely at ease with their new developments. He lounged casually on the bed, propped up on one elbow and seemingly unconcerned that the quilt was draped dangerously low around his hips. She certainly didn't have any regrets herself, but it was going to take her a very long time before flouncing around naked in front of him was on the agenda. "You're going to be late for work," he reminded her unhelpfully, his mocking smile still in place and gaze fixed directly on her, fully expecting a show.

"All men are pigs," Sakura grumbled under her breath, repeating the phrase she'd so often heard from Tsunade. Aware that precious minutes were ticking away, she took the first course of action that popped into her head. Before he had a chance to react, she tore the quilt off the bed and wrapped it around herself. Feeling much more secure now that she had something covering her protectively, Sakura moved to retrieve her clothes that were strewn about the room.

"Hey!" Deidara complained, "It's cold!"

Glancing back at him, Sakura smirked. The tips of his ears had turned pink and his previous arrogance had vanished – he now looked decidedly uncomfortable. Unable to stop herself, Sakura cast her gaze downwards, raised an eyebrow and remarked, "I can tell."

Without a shred of guilt that she'd likely dealt a mortal wound to his pride, Sakura dressed quickly as Deidara tried in vain to rearrange himself into a more decent position. Failing miserably to compose himself in a less vulnerable manner as Sakura snickered at him, he said coldly, "Don't you have to hurry off to work and save people's lives or something, yeah?"

Finally tracking down her new sweater and pulling it on, Sakura shook her head at his indignation. "You're so sensitive," she teased, and tossed the quilt towards him before heading off to work.

It wasn't until she was halfway to the clinic that the full realization of what had happened the night before suddenly dawned on her. After all this time they'd finally given in. But not only had their moment of weakness not created the disaster that she'd feared, it had also been _totally worth it_. A wide grin spread across her face and she didn't bother containing Inner Sakura's reaction.

"Hell yeah!" she shouted and punched the air, startling the nearby townspeople as she shattered the peacefulness of the morning.

* * *

It came as no great surprise to Sakura when their relationship continued in much the same way as that first morning. He rarely gave any her any signs of affection, and she never sighed dreamily over thoughts of him. He never apologized for anything, and she never spoke of her feelings. She stole all the covers, and he had no qualms about greedily stealing them right back. Somewhere deep in their minds they both knew it was impossible, but while it lasted, it was _perfect_.

Over time they fell into routine. When one woke from nightmares of the past, the other would pretend to sleep. When Deidara sold a painting they spent the evening out, often repeating the same turbulent events of that first fateful night. They still bickered incessantly, but making up suddenly became far more fun than before. Life continued much the same until one day, far too soon by Sakura's reckoning, the ice at the harbour began to thaw and a few brave sailors tested the water.

"I swear if we get one more call for hypothermia I'm just going to toss the idiotic sailor back into the ocean," Alvara grumbled as they left the house of yet another unfortunate man whose boat hadn't held up against the icy waters. "It's not summer yet! Why do they bother trying to set sail? With all the ice floating around and the strong currents from the melting snow, it's no wonder their ships keep sinking!"

Inwardly, Sakura agreed. After a long day at the clinic, spending the evening making house-calls wasn't what she'd had in mind. She was looking forward to curling up next to Deidara and sleeping off her stress. "That's the last one we have to check up on though, right?" she asked hopefully.

"Even if there were more, I'd still call it a night," the healer said, her usual scowl in place. She pulled her shawl tightly over her shoulders. "The spring thaw might be here but there's still a nasty chill in the air. It does nothing for my old bones. Anyone else who wants a house-call can wait until morning -- what would this place do if _I_ got sick?"

Sakura smiled at Alvara's disgruntled tone – she never changed. Despite her words, Sakura knew that if more townspeople needed help, the healer would stay up all night taking care of them. There was no end to the older woman's complaints, but she took her job seriously.

As they rounded the corner to Sakura's home, a bitter wind blew through the streets, carrying the scent of the sea. Crossing her arms against the sudden chill, she turned to Alvara and asked, "Why don't you come in for some tea? It's still a ways back to the clinic."

Alvara eyed the house in front of her with some surprise. Embarrassed, it occurred belatedly to Sakura that her ramshackle home wasn't exactly the most presentable for company. At least they'd manage to clean the inside up a bit, she thought with relief. Thankfully, the healer merely nodded and said, "It might do me some good to warm up a bit."

It wasn't until she pushed open the door that she realized she'd just walked into a situation she'd been trying to avoid for weeks. Deidara looked up from the drawing he was sketching at the table and froze. Alvara's usual scowl deepened. With a feeling of increasing dread, Sakura was at least fairly certain she wouldn't need to make introductions.

"So, boy," Alvara said, narrowing her eyes, "We finally meet."

Visibly bristling at the word 'boy', Deidara ground out through clenched teeth, "You must be the healer, yeah." It wasn't a question. "I've heard a lot about you."

Sakura shot him a pleading glance. She'd often complained about the healer's frosty and slave-driving nature, but now more than ever she desperately wished Deidara understood that she'd been _mostly_ exaggerating. It certainly didn't help that he and Alvara had the sort of personalities that mixed as well as oil and water.

Deidara said nothing as Alvara lowered herself into the other chair at the table. She fixed him with her usual scowl, peered at him from over the rims of her glasses, and asked, "Well? Aren't you going to make us some tea? And give your seat to your girlfriend – she's been working all day."

The healer's unspoken words of '_unlike you_' rang in the stillness that followed. Still seated at the table, Deidara glared at Alvara as though daring her to say it out loud. Sakura stood frozen, watching the scene with increasing dread. At last, when the tension was so thick it made Sakura want to scream just to break the silence, Deidara pushed back his chair, the wooden legs scraping loudly against the floor. Without a word, he grabbed Sakura by the elbow and manoeuvred her into the chair before turning towards the kitchen cupboards in search of the kettle.

With an enormously fake smile, Sakura attempted to redirect the conversation onto safer grounds as Deidara banged one of the cupboard doors shut a little too loudly. "So… I can't believe how many extra calls we had today! I'm glad tomorrow's Saturday."

Shifting her glare away from Deidara's back, Alvara's expression adopted a somewhat less disapproving frown as she glanced over at Sakura. "You thought today was tough? Ha! I've been doing this on my own for over thirty years before you came along."

Sakura made a sympathetic noise that came out a bit strangled as she heard Deidara drum his fingers impatiently on the countertop behind her. "Does this sort of thing happen every year?" she asked, hoping to divert the healer's attention away from Deidara.

Alvara nodded and gave a long-suffering sigh. "Every year. It's a status thing, you see. Every sailor wants to be the one to bring in the first big catch of the year, even if it means risking their lives." Her scowl deepening, she glanced over at Deidara and added, "Foolish men."

Sakura laughed weakly, relieved to hear the kettle start to whistle. Before it had a chance to reach a more ear-splitting pitch, Deidara grabbed it from the stove and slammed it down on the table, alongside two mugs. His mouth pressed in a thin line, he leaned against the edge of the counter and glared at the healer.

Adjusting her spectacles as she gazed, unimpressed, at the hot water that had splashed from the kettle onto the table, Alvara continued, "Mark my words, one day a ship will go down far enough out to sea that the crew won't be able to swim to shore. When that time comes, we'll have a real disaster on our hands – the kind you can't fix with hot water bottles and cocoa."

"You're a cheerful one, yeah," Deidara remarked dryly. Sakura shot him a warning glare as she poured Alvara's tea.

Unfazed by his comment, the healer nodded in thanks towards Sakura before taking a sip from her mug. "Still a bit too weak," she commented with a frown. Reverting back to their previous topic, she said, "This spring thaw does seem to be going better than most though. It's nice to have an extra pair of hands to help out at the clinic, especially during this time of the year," she admitted. Sakura didn't bother to hold back a smile – that was the closest she'd ever get to a compliment from the older woman. "If you keep working like this I might not have to dread the coming of next spring."

Sakura's grin faltered. She hadn't told Alvara that her stay in Cìen was only temporary. The more she thought about it though, the more she was tempted to stay. Life was peaceful and quiet in the port town, and her job in the clinic was both important and fulfilling. It was difficult and sometimes strange to not use chakra, but so far she'd managed to function well enough without it. Not to mention there were now certain other reasons why delaying her return to Konoha for just a while longer seemed like a good idea. Unwillingly, she glanced over at Deidara before turning her attention back to the healer.

The rest of the conversation was mercifully peaceful, and Sakura thanked every power she could think of that Deidara kept quiet and Alvara ignored him for the most part. When at last the healer declared that she should be on her way home, Sakura dared to breathe a sigh of relief. The awkward visit would soon be over, and then once Deidara's wounded pride was soothed they could have a much-needed relaxing evening.

Or so she thought.

As Sakura pasted on a cheerful grin and bade farewell to Alvara at the door, the older woman paused and stared expectantly at Deidara. "Well, boy?" she asked, her air of displeasure just as evident as Deidara's open hostility. "Are you really going to make an old lady walk home on her own?"

"Yeah," he replied simply, crossing his arms, "I am. Get out."

As Alvara clicked her tongue in a sound of disapproval, Sakura grabbed her own jacket and tried to steer the situation away from disaster. "I'll walk you to the clinic," she offered politely, silently cursing Deidara's stubborn nature.

"And what would that accomplish?" Alvara asked crossly, "You'll just have to walk home alone afterwards! It's dark out now – Cìen's safe, but this is still no time for women to be wandering around on their own." She sighed dramatically before continuing in a tone of bitter lament, "I remember the time when men used to be _men_. There was always some gentleman to walk you home. None of this nonsense where we had to risk being alone on the streets at night. How times have changed…"

Sakura was just about to reassure her that she could take care of herself perfectly well before she remembered that Alvara had no idea she was a ninja. In her role as a civilian, she certainly couldn't reveal that anyone who gave her trouble was guaranteed to wind up dumped over the side of the docks. Fortunately, Alvara's attention was redirected from Sakura's moment of hesitation as Deidara made a noise of disgust and held up his hands in defeat.

"Alright, alright! I'll walk you home, yeah." Everything from his tone to his expression was murderous, and Sakura suddenly found herself wondering if Alvara would really be any safer with him.

As always, the healer didn't grin. Her look of triumph, however, was unmistakeable. With a farewell nod to Sakura, Alvara gathered her shawl around her shoulders and stepped out into the chilly night.

"Miserable old bat," Deidara muttered as he stalked out after the healer. Sakura closed the door behind him, oddly relieved at his words – he could have said much, much worse.

When they'd gone, Sakura rested her forehead against the cool wood of the door and closed her eyes. So far, this evening was shaping up to be even more stressful than her day at work. With a deep breath, she tried to dispel the tension that had built up over the encounter between her employer and her –

Her what?

Combined with the past half hour of nerve-wracking agony, that thought was enough to make her temples throb with the beginnings of a headache. 'Boyfriend', as Alvara put it, sounded too trite and childish. 'Lover' didn't work either, because while they _were_ sleeping together, Sakura felt that anything with the word 'love' in it wasn't quite right when applied to their relationship. 'Friends with benefits' was also out, if only because her own emotions had moved beyond the point where there were no strings attached. Idly, she wondered if there was some term of semi-endearment that communicated mutual feelings of irritation and frequent shouting matches.

At a loss on that entire train of thought, Sakura turned her attentions to a more practical matter: dinner. While she wasn't sure if the tight, uncomfortable feeling in her stomach was due to lack of food or stress, she figured a decent meal was in order either way. A quick scan of the fridge netted her some vegetables and meat that looked like it hadn't gone _entirely_ bad just yet. Rifling through the pots and pans under the sink, she set about making something that would hopefully be edible.

The water on the stove had just begun to boil when Deidara opened the door and stepped back inside. "I can't stand that woman, yeah," he announced, throwing his coat over the back of a chair. "She didn't need to me to walk her home – no one would ever want to go near her anyway. Goddamned battleaxe."

Without pausing in her work to look at him, Sakura rolled her eyes. At least from his comment she could deduce that the healer had probably arrived at the clinic unharmed. "I know she's a bit difficult, but once you get to know her she's really not that bad."

"Not that bad, yeah?" he asked, his voice between seething and incredulous. "She spent the entire walk telling me what an awful excuse for a human being I am and that I should be worshipping the ground you walk on because – what was it she said? Oh yeah, 'Sakura could do so much better than a good-for-nothing, ungrateful leech like you'." Beneath the bitter rage in his words, Sakura imagined she could hear a small amount of hurt as well. This wishful thinking, however, was effectively crushed as he continued with wholehearted malice, "I can't wait to tell her that I'm also a criminal wanted for murder, arson, burglary, mayhem, kidnapping, and conspiracy in six countries."

As Sakura wondered if he was exaggerating or if she should be truly disconcerted by the pride behind his words, he added hopefully, "Maybe she'll have a stroke, yeah."

"I know Alvara isn't easy to get along with," she conceded, "But would it hurt to at least _pretend_ to be nice? You may be a criminal, but I can't believe you won't even walk little old ladies home at night!" She paused to blow a stray piece of hair out of her eyes as her hands worked deftly with a knife, slicing a pepper. With a shake of her head, she added mostly to herself, "Sometimes I wonder what I see in you."

"Probably my dashing good looks, yeah," he said, radiating confidence as he moved to hold her, his arms folding around her waist.

Resisting the urge to lean back into his embrace, Sakura elbowed him away and dumped the peppers into the pot on the stove. "Well there's certainly not much else!"

Turning to face him, she put her hands on her hips and met his smirk with a frown. "Not much else, yeah?" he asked in a playful tone that Sakura had come to recognize as trouble. Closing the distance between them once again and cornering her against the counter, he leaned in to brush his lips against the top of her ear and pitched his voice low, "Seems like I need to remind you."

Gripping the edge of the counter until her knuckles turned white was all Sakura could do to maintain her semblance of calm as she felt her face grow hot. Unnerved that he could make her react so strongly from such a simple action, she cursed her weak knees and tried to concentrate as his mouth moved down to her neck, one hand beginning to work at the buttons of her blouse.

As much as she was enjoying his attentions, she couldn't let him continue. There was no way she could let him win that easily – he'd be unbearably smug for days. Reaching behind her, her hand closed over a wooden spoon. Pushing him away, she tapped him gently on the chest and almost managed to keep her voice level as she said, "Someone's full of himself today!"

His face fell as Sakura tried to appear cross. Not one to be discouraged so easily, he tried again. "Well if nothing else, I'm definitely in need of a distraction or I'll have nothing better to do than go back to that clinic and commit the best example of arson this town has ever seen."

By the time he finished speaking, a wide grin had broken out across his face. Unfortunately, Sakura couldn't tell whether he was being playful or if he really found his alternative suggestion so appealing.

She pretended to consider his words for a moment, pursing her lips in thought, all the while keeping him and his token efforts to kiss her again at bay with her handy spoon. "A distraction? I can think of one." She smiled suggestively, looking up at him through half-lidded eyes before adding sweetly, "How about: it's your turn to make dinner."

With that, she thrust the spoon into his hands and strode away. Pausing at the doorframe into the bedroom, she glanced back to take in his shocked expression. "Call me when it's finished – and if that's not enough of a distraction, the shower needs to be cleaned."

Turning on her heel, she stepped into the other room, ignoring Deidara's outraged protests. Perhaps she'd teased him a bit too much after the evening's trials with Alvara, but she'd been through a lot that day and didn't fancy having to put up with his ego – she knew he would only become infinitely worse if she played along. Sprawling across the bed, she tried to forget the warm feeling of his lips against her skin and calm her racing heart.

* * *

When Sakura awoke the next morning, she found herself curled up against a comforting source of warmth, one that had become a constant at some point over the last few months. Blinking the sleep from her eyes, she looked at the man beside her. It was said that sleep made anyone appear childlike, angelic, innocent, or some other sort of nonsense. Sakura had long since concluded that this was all rubbish. It was true that Deidara did not fit the look of a criminal, but his mouth nonetheless kept a slight curve, mocking and arrogant even as he slept.

Nuzzling closer, she ran her hands over his chest, careful to avoid the strange tattoo that he'd warned her against touching. He stirred slightly and mumbled something unintelligible, the words lost in his state of half-sleep. Smiling softly to herself, Sakura placed a gentle kiss on the hollow between his neck and collarbone, delighted to feel him shiver.

"I thought you weren't in the mood," he said, his words still slurred from sleep. There was no annoyance in his voice, only a light note of teasing.

"That was last night," she informed him, and continued her ministrations with increasing interest.

When her lips moved from his neck to his ear, Sakura suddenly found that the tables were turned as Deidara flipped her onto her back. Pinned against the mattress and thoroughly enjoying this new development, Sakura had little doubt that he was now fully awake.

"I thought you were tired," she remarked as the movement of his hands proved that he was, in fact, not. He didn't bother to respond, but as Sakura wound her hands in his hair and pressed herself closer to him, she found that she didn't really care.

Just as she could hear his breathing quicken and her own heartbeat pound loud enough to wake the neighbours, there was a loud, frantic knocking at the door. Deidara paused, glanced up at Sakura and shrugged before his hands continued undeterred in their journey downwards. Trying to forget about the person at the door, Sakura closed her eyes and focussed on more fascinating matters. Her concentration, however, was broken when the knocking resumed, this time sounding more urgent.

"Wait," Sakura said, reluctant to stop but now worried about who was at the door. Using all of her willpower, she pushed away a very disappointed Deidara. "It might be important."

He pulled a face. "I'm sure nothing can be _that_ important on a Saturday morning, yeah." As his hand traced circles on her inner thigh, Sakura was momentarily inclined to believe him. When the pounding on the door continued again though, she had no choice but to slip away from Deidara. Wrapping a towel around herself, she went to answer the door.

"Someone had better be dying, yeah," Deidara grumbled as he stepped into his jeans and followed her out of the bedroom.

She shot him a silencing glare as she threw open the front door. In front of her, a pale, wide-eyed boy spoke so quickly that Sakura completely missed what he said.

"Sorry," she said, stifling a yawn and anxious to get back to her previous activities, "Could you repeat that?"

The boy took a deep breath but was unable to completely rid himself of his panic. His accent was thick, but this time there was no mistaking his words: "You have to come to the harbour, there's been an accident!"

Memories of Alvara's prophetic words the night before rushed back and Sakura felt herself grow cold. "What sort of accident?" she asked calmly, despite a rising sensation of dread.

"A shipwreck," the boy replied, making wild motions with his hands. "Come quickly! The healer needs your help."

Sakura didn't need any other convincing than that – Alvara wouldn't have sent the boy to find her unless the situation was serious. "Wait here," she told the boy before dashing back into the bedroom and throwing on her clothes. Her mind elsewhere, she barely noticed that Deidara was doing the same.

"You can stay here," she said, confused as to why he was getting dressed too.

"And miss the chance to see a disaster first-hand?" He grinned in a way that Sakura found unsettling. "Not a chance, yeah." Sakura could only shake her head in disgust before she took off after the messenger boy.

By the time she arrived at the harbour, sprinting at full speed, her throat burned with the cool morning air. It didn't take her long to spot the problem – a large crowd had gathered around one of the piers. Townspeople stood on their tiptoes to get a better view, both intrigued and horrified at the same time. Elbowing her way to the front, Sakura felt her heart sink. Four men, their clothes drenched with sea water, were laid out on the dock, unmoving. Alvara was busy with one of them, her small arms locked firmly in position as she performed chest compressions.

Years of training kicking in, Sakura knelt down next to one of the unconscious men and checked for a pulse. There wasn't one. "How long have they been out?" she asked Alvara, before tilting the man's head back and giving him two breaths. His lungs were likely filled with water, but at least his airway was clear.

"Not sure," the healer panted out, and Sakura marvelled that the older woman had the strength to perform such a physically demanding act. "The ship went down about twenty minutes ago – the men were only just pulled from the water."

The healer's eyes met with Sakura's, her unspoken words fully understood: there wasn't much hope for the sailors. Fully aware that every second mattered, Sakura counted two fingers up from the bottom of the man's ribcage, positioned her hands, locked her elbows, and began compressions. "A defibrillator?" she asked quickly, unable to say more while all of her energy went towards pressing down on the man's chest in an attempt to keep blood and oxygen circulating through his body. She felt his ribs crack beneath her hands as she pushed down hard, hoping that the force of her actions would cause his heart to restart.

When Alvara only looked confused, Sakura realized that the medical technology she'd taken for granted in Konoha wasn't widespread in other parts of the world – particularly in backward fishing towns like Cìen. Only vaguely aware that Deidara was watching the scene with morbid interest, Sakura tried to keep calm as she finished the set of compressions and once again checked for a pulse – still nothing.

Sakura started through the cycle again, but knew that chances for the sailors' survival were slim. It was rare for simple CPR to revive someone who wasn't breathing and had no pulse. The knowledge that were she in Konoha she would likely be able to save all four men was awful. Without the use of chakra or medical equipment, however, there was little she could do. She needed something that would shock the man's heart into action.

Already beginning to tire from the exertion of performing compressions, Sakura glanced at the man's face. He was middle-aged, his skin already deeply lined from the passage of years, and his dark beard had the barest hint of grey. He was an ordinary civilian, and she imagined that he'd probably risked the dangerous waters because he had a family to feed. Alvara had claimed that the sailors risked their lives out of desire for bragging rights, but Sakura wasn't entirely convinced – after a long winter, both food and money were running low for those who made their living from the sea.

It would be so simple to heal him with chakra – a jolt of energy to the heart to get it beating again, and further medical attention to restore the damage likely done to his brain due to the lack of oxygen. With her skills and training, she had no doubt that she could save all four men. While using chakra meant that she might be found by the nation's ninja, not using it would result in the sailors' deaths for sure. She'd never be able to live with herself then. You're too soft-hearted, her inner self accused, but Sakura had already made her decision.

"Deidara!" she shouted, unable to spare a glance at him while all her energy went towards pressing down on the man's chest at a steady rhythm. When she felt him kneel beside her, she continued, "Put your coat over my hands."

He hesitated, but she didn't want to explain further – he'd never follow her instructions if he knew what she had planned. "_Just do it!_" she hissed, with enough urgency behind her words to make him jump into action.

When her hands were concealed by the fabric, she dared to meet his eyes. As she gathered chakra and channelled it to her hands, he understood what she was doing. "You can't be serious, yeah," he groaned in disbelief. "Are you _insane_? We've just spent the past few months trying to be ordinary and now you're going to go ruin it all!"

"You think I would actually let them die?" she asked, keeping her voice low so as not to be overheard by the townspeople watching nearby. "What kind of a person do you think I am?"

"The worst ninja ever, yeah," he concluded, angry at her actions yet resigned as he realized there was no way of talking her out of it.

Ignoring Deidara as he muttered curses against morals and ethics, Sakura drew her chakra into her hands. With one last compression of the sailor's chest, she released the energy, forcing his heart to start beating. His pulse was faint, but Sakura wasted no time in pushing the water in his lungs up and out until it trickled from his mouth. Closing her eyes, she then examined the rest of his injuries via chakra. As she'd suspected, the man's brain had gone without oxygen for too long. The damage, however, was nothing the Hokage's apprentice couldn't handle.

She would have to deal with that later though. The man was out of danger for now, but his companions weren't safe yet. "Get him inside, somewhere warm," she told Deidara, before calling out to Alvara, "This one will be alright! You keep working on that one, I'll try to help the others."

Alvara fixed her apprentice with a look caught between curiosity and amazement but was mercifully silent. Deidara gave her one last glare of thinly disguised rage before he carefully picked up the lucky sailor with the help of another man from the crowd and carried him away. Sakura had no doubt that difficult explanations to both of them would be in order later, but for the moment, she knelt beside one of the other unconscious men and prepared herself for a long, trying morning.

* * *

By the time she was satisfied that the sailors would recover on their own, Sakura was exhausted. While it was a relief to use chakra again after months of suppressing it, she also found that she'd been out of practice for too long. She had worked all day in a small, cramped bedroom, insisting that she be left alone with the sailors. The townspeople had been curious, but would have done anything she asked if it meant saving the lives of the men. Even Alvara had only frowned deeply, narrowed her eyes, but conceded.

As the last glow of medical chakra faded, Sakura leaned back in her chair and sighed. She was beyond tired, but her sense of accomplishment was undeniable. She'd kept the men unconscious, lulling them into a chakra-induced sleep, but their heartbeats had returned to normal and they were breathing properly. They'd all sustained serious damage from their near-drowning, but she hadn't studied under Tsunade for nothing.

Feeling terribly proud of herself, Sakura left the stuffy room to announce the good news to everyone. As she stepped into the kitchen, however, the crowd that was waiting nervously bombarded her with questions before she had a chance to speak.

"Is my husband alright?" asked one woman, straining to get a view of the bedroom. The other townspeople gather in the kitchen continued in much the same manner.

"Are they alright?"

"How is my son?"

"You must be exhausted!"

"Will they live?"

While Alvara said nothing and Deidara, predictably, only glared at her, this barrage of questions combined with the heat of the room and her light-headed exhaustion brought on by chakra use proved to be too much.

"They'll be fine," Sakura managed to squeak out, before she fainted dead away.

* * *

She awoke to the unpleasant sensation of being carried none too gently over someone's shoulder. From the blond hair that seemed to insist on getting in her mouth, she didn't need many guesses at who the person was.

"You know," she said casually, "Someone who has just spent their Saturday saving lives usually doesn't deserve to be carried like a sack of wheat."

He made no reply, but Sakura could feel him tense at the sound of her voice. Not one to be deterred, she tried again: "Just because I had one little fainting fit doesn't mean I'm an invalid – I'm perfectly capable of walking on my own, you know."

He ignored her again, so Sakura gave a weary sigh and decided to wait out the rest of the journey home. When at last they arrived, Deidara dumped her abruptly from his shoulders, causing her to stumble as her feet met the ground. She put her hands on her hips and fixed him with a look of displeasure, but he avoided her eyes, his mouth set in a thin line and his jaw tense.

They'd hardly stepped through the door before he could no longer contain himself. Finally acknowledging her presence, he turned to her and burst out: "Why did you do that?"

The feeling behind his words was so strong that Sakura took an involuntary step back. "Do what?" she asked, feigning ignorance although she knew perfectly well what he was angry about.

"Why did you save them, yeah?" he ground out through his teeth, anger twisting his face into an expression that would have been ugly had Sakura been capable of thinking him so.

It had been a while since Sakura had thought of him seriously as Akatsuki – she'd used the term more to tease him – but now his words were an unpleasant reminder that they did indeed have very different moral codes. "I couldn't just let them die!" she insisted, trying in vain to make him see her point of view.

"Who cares, yeah? You don't know them!"

Sakura was ready to wring his neck for such a callous comment, but Deidara was spared this gruesome fate by a knock at the door. Before she had the chance to open it, the door creaked open and Alvara stepped inside, her expression set in a look that Sakura knew meant danger. The healer gave a quick glance towards Sakura, as though reassuring herself that the younger woman was in fact there, before turning the full force of her gaze towards Deidara.

"When I told you she needed to rest," the healer said, her usual scowl deepening, "I didn't mean you had to sweep her away and bring her back here. She would have been perfectly fine at the other house."

As Deidara matched the healer's glare with equal enmity, Sakura had to bite her lip to fend off a smile. For all of Deidara's rage over her actions, if what Alvara had said was true, he still managed to show he cared for her in his own strange way.

Alvara was the first to break eye contact, as she turned towards Sakura and said with a deep tone of weariness that was unusual for the healer, "I think it's time you explained everything to me."

"We're not explaining anything to you, you old –"

Placing on hand gently on Deidara's arm in an effort to silence him, she interrupted his words. "Yes," she said to Alvara, suddenly feeling tired again from the strain of the day, "You deserve to know."

* * *

When at last the story was finished, Alvara sat in silence for a moment as she sorted through her thoughts. Deidara had said little during Sakura's tale, adding details here and there but largely remaining quiet as he leaned against the counter and sent hostile looks at the healer.

"You know," said Alvara, cutting through the stillness that had settled over the room. "We all kind of knew." Before Sakura could speak, the healer continued, "The townspeople, I mean. We'd heard the rumours of two fugitives on the run, and most of us can put two and two together. But no one in Cìen wants trouble, so we kept quiet. Besides, you don't seem the criminal sort. Him on the other hand…" She nodded towards Deidara, but the corners of her mouth twitched in what Sakura had come to recognize as the healer's version of a grin. "I've got half a mind to turn him in."

Sakura smiled faintly, relieved that she'd left out the part about Deidara being from a notoriously evil criminal organization. Alvara gave her a look that came awfully close to being kind, and said, "One good turn deserves another – the townspeople won't tell anyone about you, especially not after what you did today. We're in your debt."

"That doesn't matter, yeah," said Deidara, frustration in every word. "Other ninja can detect chakra use. If there was one nearby, they'll know we're here. We'll have to leave, go on the run again, or --" He paused, his eyes flicking over to Sakura. "Or go back to the Fire Country."

As Sakura held his gaze, her breath caught in her throat. His face hid nothing, and from his words and the emotion thick in his voice, she found that she could almost read his mind. He knew what going back to the Fire Country meant – separation, the end of all they'd built, and if it were possible, going back to being enemies. Sakura agonized over that thought almost daily, but it was somehow comforting to know that she wasn't the only one.

Alvara waved one hand dismissively, bringing Sakura back from her thoughts. "I don't think you'll need to worry about that. Nothing important ever happens in Cìen – we rarely see soldiers around these parts, much less ninja."

"That's kind of the point, yeah," Deidara explained wryly, "They're ninja – you're not _supposed_ to see them."

Sakura couldn't help but grin – he never changed. Her grin turned to a yawn before she could stop herself, as her body once again reminded her that it needed rest.

Noticing her actions, Alvara rose from her chair and prepared to leave. "You need to get some sleep," she told Sakura sternly, before turning to Deidara. "At least for tonight, don't worry about leaving Cìen. She needs to rest, and I'm certain that no one is going to track you down. Trust me, in a few days I'll be able to say 'I told you so.'" Giving him one last smug look, she left them alone.

"She knows too much, yeah," Deidara said, narrowing his eyes as the door closed behind the healer.

Sakura crossed her arms and sighed, fully aware of where his train of thought was going. "You can't kill her."

Despite her weariness, Sakura couldn't help but laugh as he had the gall to look truly disappointed. Before he had the chance to say anything else, she stepped forward and kissed him. Startled by her sudden action, for a moment he didn't respond. Sakura, however, found that she couldn't care less.

They would have to leave Cìen eventually. She could try to delay their return to the Fire Country, but not forever. And then everything between them would change – they both knew that it had to. Her use of chakra had only sped up the inevitable. As Deidara recovered from his surprise and began to return the kiss, Sakura pressed herself as close to him as possible, as though afraid that he would slip away from her entirely. Bunching her hands in his shirt, she tried to memorize every detail of the moment – she should have done that all along, she realized painfully, because now there was so little time left.

Sakura knew that the events of the day had pushed something into motion, but as Deidara deepened the kiss and slid his arms around her waist, she had to content herself with thinking that whatever troubles were to come in the future, they weren't there quite yet.


	15. Chapter 15

**Title:** Somewhere I Have Never Travelled, Gladly Beyond  
**Fandom:** Naruto  
**Type:** Multi-chaptered  
**Rating:** Pg-13  
**Pairings:** Deidara/Sakura  
**Word count:** 10,597

**A/N:** This isn't the last chapter. The next one is.

* * *

Deidara was acting strange, Sakura concluded one afternoon not long after she'd become the village hero by saving the lives of the four unfortunate sailors. Not that Deidara wasn't a particular brand of strange all the time, of course. This was different though.

He had little reason to be acting this way, Sakura reflected. At first they'd both been on edge, half expecting to have a handful of kunai flung at them at any moment. They'd waited anxiously for something to happen, something to tell them that they needed to run. But nothing came. No kunai, no shuriken, not even the slightest flicker of enemy chakra. By now, Sakura had concluded that she'd been terribly lucky and as long as she didn't use chakra again, life could go on as before. Deidara should have returned to normal – if that word could be applied to him – as well. But as they sat around the kitchen table one lazy afternoon, she noting down the week's expenses and figuring out their next grocery budget while he pretended to work on a commission, it was blatantly obvious that he was staring at her.

"Is there something on my face?" she asked bluntly, when at last she was too uneasy with being watched so closely.

He blinked at her, making no attempt to conceal that he'd been staring. "Could be, but it'll take me a while to find on that forehead of yours, yeah," he said, tempering the harsh words with a light tone and playful grin.

Sakura couldn't help but smile. "You're mean," she accused, and swatted him on the arm.

"Of course I am, yeah." He smiled easily, arrogant and self-assured. "But that's why you like me."

Sakura had to look down at her notepaper and scribble a few sums, unable to keep a blush from her face. "It's not the _only_ reason," she mumbled, and as they settled into a comfortable silence she forgot that anything had been amiss.

* * *

Sakura was very worried indeed when the next morning the same thing happened again. She awoke slowly, stretching languorously and reveling in the warmth of the bed. When at last she opened her eyes she nearly jumped out of her skin. Deidara was already awake, watching her openly, his expression soft, absent of its usual air of superiority. With anyone else Sakura would have found it sweet that they watched her as she slept. Coming from Deidara though, it was a bit disconcerting.

"Um," she said. "You're kind of scaring me."

For a moment he didn't reply, only continued to watch her, and Sakura had to fight off the urge to fidget nervously. At last, he said simply: "Sometimes you twitch in your sleep, yeah."

With that, he rolled over and was silent once again. After a few minutes Sakura could tell from his breathing that he'd drifted off and she was left far too confused for such an early hour.

* * *

She caught him watching her more and more, and finally she decided that something had to be done. Or rather, her temper decided it for her.

It had been a long day – ever since she'd saved the sailors she was in high demand by the townspeople, who now seemed to regard her as some sort of medical deity descended from the heavens. She'd thought the clinic had been busy before, but now it was unbearable. People came to complain of every possible ailment, real or imagined, and parents brought their children to see her even if they were the picture of health. Sakura didn't dare use chakra again, but she did her best to help before sending the patients on their way.

And so it was no surprise that when she came home she wanted to relax and forget the stresses of the day. Had she stopped to think more carefully however, she would have known that a peaceful evening with Deidara was not a likely occurrence.

They prepared dinner in silence – that much was a small blessing. But as she diced up an oddly shaped local vegetable into neat little cubes, she had the unnerving impression that she was being watched. Glancing up, she shot a questioning look at Deidara. When their eyes met though, he looked back down, pretending to concentrate on the carrots he was peeling. Sakura narrowed her eyes but said nothing and went back to work. But this same set of events repeated itself over and over until finally she could no longer stand it.

"Look," she said fiercely, her temper snapping, "I hate it when you do that! So stop it!"

"Stop what, yeah?" he asked as close to innocently as he could ever manage, but Sakura wasn't fooled.

"You know what!" she hissed at him through clenched teeth, as all the stress from the day piled onto her confusion over his actions and she could feel her face grow hot from anger. "You keep staring at me! And you've been doing it for days! Ever since that shipwreck you've been acting weird – weirder than usual. It's really annoying! Not to mention you're kind of creeping me out. You're being all quiet and I have no idea what you're thinking." She paused, finding herself out of breath, before continuing in a softer voice as she spoke the words mostly to herself, "I never know what you're thinking."

He stared at her again, and this only served to make her angrier until she saw that he was looking at her hand. Glancing down, she realized belatedly that she'd been pointing her knife menacingly at him during her tirade. "Err," she said, setting the blade down on the table as her rage dissipated. "I just mean to say that if you have a problem with me, we should talk about it."

He blinked. "I don't have a problem with you, yeah." And he went back to peeling carrots.

"I think," Sakura began again, allowing a trace of annoyance to seep into her tone, "That we have some serious communication problems." When he said nothing, she continued, "And if you want to keep this, this – whatever it is that's going on between us, we need to do something about that."

He made a little noise that might have been in agreement but didn't meet her eyes.

"Because I would, you know," she said boldly, before she could stop herself. "I would like to keep this going." She swallowed and licked her dry lips nervously, and figured that now that she'd started she might as well spill it all. "Even though you're overconfident, disagreeable, and sometimes you make me _so angry_ – I still want to keep this going. I know things aren't perfect and I'm not asking them to be. But I like this town, and somehow I've come to rather like you too, so…" Her voice trailed off as she searched for what to say next. "So I think we should work on things. A little. Because I want to stay here – with you."

When at last he looked up at her, Sakura felt silly for having told him all that but she bit her lip, bravely held his gaze, and waited for him to speak.

"We'll have to go home eventually, yeah," he reminded her, although his tone suggested that he'd much rather set himself on fire than do anything of the sort.

She looked into his eyes, and whether it was his voice or his expression that gave her a moment of clairvoyance, she wasn't sure. But it was undeniable that as they held each other's gaze in silence, an understanding passed between them.

Had Deidara suggested weakness at any other point, he would've been in for the teasing of his life. But now Sakura swallowed down a lump in her throat and felt awful for not having noticed earlier.

"You're upset," she began softly, unaware that she was speaking her thoughts out loud. "You're upset that we'll have to go back."

He looked away and ran a hand through his hair, pulling out the tie to let it fall loose around his face. "Of course not," he began stubbornly, but when Sakura raised a skeptical eyebrow he hesitated. "Okay, maybe a little, yeah," he admitted.

Sakura had a feeling this was an understatement, but knew his pride would never allow him to say more. "Is that why you've been watching me?" she asked. "Is it because you know we'll have to leave?"

She'd criticized him for communication problems, and yet now she couldn't bring herself to finish her question properly. _Have you been watching me because you'll have to leave me?_ But she couldn't ask that, so she just knit her eyebrows and hoped he understood what she meant.

Deidara tied his hair back again slowly, as though trying to delay his reply. When he finally looked up at her the stray strands of blond hair were once again fixed in place, leaving nothing to hide his expression – more open and vulnerable than she'd ever seen. There was something heartbreaking in his face, and Sakura found herself longing for a familiar smirk, some hint of teasing behind his eyes, even wishing he'd make fun of her. Anything for a sense of normalcy.

"Yeah," he replied slowly, and Sakura knew this was more difficult to say than he'd ever admit. "That's why I've been watching you. I _know_ we have to go home, but sometimes I don't want to. I don't want to lose all of this, and I don't want to lose y--" He paused, his gaze flicking away from her for a moment before he began again, "This is probably the dumbest thing ever, but sometimes it seems like if I just focus on what's in the present, maybe you – I mean, _it_ won't ever slip away and the future won't happen, yeah. So maybe it's a bit weird that I can't stop staring at you – and pathetic, goddamnit, I know – but it makes everything seem like it's going to be alright, if only for a minute."

His words came more quickly as he continued to speak, as though all of his mounting thoughts and feelings had been locked away for too long, and finally when they broke loose he could do nothing to stop them.

"But I _know_ none of that makes any sense and we'll have to go home eventually no matter how much I stare and don't want it to happen and hope for something impossible. We don't belong here – we never will. Not using chakra is going to drive us crazier than we already are, yeah. I can't stand not being able to practice my art, having to wear gloves and pretending to be ordinary, passing off scribbles as real talent. I can't keep living like this, anymore than you could have stopped yourself from using chakra to save those men. And the next time you – or me, but probably not – slip up, maybe we won't be so lucky. The next time they'll find us and we'll have to run again. We need to go home. We need to go home, and the longer we put it off the more –" He stopped abruptly, but Sakura could fill in all the possibilities: the more difficult it will be, the more pain we'll feel, the more _we won't want to go home at all_.

But none of that was right, she knew, because it would already be difficult and painful, and she'd stopped truly wanting to go home a long time ago.

Fully aware that this was the more honest outpouring of his feelings that she'd ever heard, and likely would _ever_ hear, Sakura was at a loss for words. "That was like a speech for you," she said at last, and promptly cursed herself for not thinking of something cleverer.

Her voice seemed to break the spell that hung over him and he grinned a crooked grin, one that didn't quite reach his eyes, and it only made Sakura's heart ache more. She searched for something reassuring to tell him but didn't know what to say. Instead, she could only ask weakly, "What will we do?"

His grin faded and a look of deep weariness passed across his features. "We go home, yeah," he answered simply. "It'll suck, but what else can we do, yeah?"

Sakura wasn't sure what she had been expecting to hear, but this wasn't it. "That's not very like you," she pointed out before she could stop herself. "Can't you think of something better? That's so, so… defeatist."

"What do you want me to say, yeah?" There was a note of frustration in his voice, and Sakura regretted her previous words. "That we'll stay here forever and everything'll be perfect? It's not going to happen. And what are you worried about anyway?" he asked bitterly. "You have a place to go back to."

She opened her mouth to answer back angrily, feeling the beginnings of an argument, but stopped short as realization hit her. He was right, in a way. It would be hard for her to leave, but it would be even worse for him. She had a home, a country, friends to rely on – she'd never be without an emotional crutch. Whatever pain she experienced after their time together ended would be infinitely worse for him. He had no one, and now that he'd found someone to be with it would be all the more difficult to go back to being alone.

"Where will you go?" she asked, and dreaded the inevitable answer.

"Where do you think?" He shrugged casually but Sakura couldn't help but shiver. She could no longer bear to think of him in the Akatsuki. "I don't have anywhere else to go, yeah."

His words were bitter, angry, not at all like he expected pity. And so Sakura bit her tongue to stop the answer she wanted to give; she wouldn't insult him by suggesting that he return to Konoha with her. She wasn't that naïve either.

At a loss for words, she did the only thing that felt right. Stepping forward, she wrapped her arms around him. He returned the embrace, bunching the material of her shirt in his fists as he held her tightly. She reached up to curl her fingers in his long hair as she buried her face in his shoulder and held him close – so close that she could pretend that maybe, just maybe, if they stayed like this everything would work out.

"We have to go home, yeah," he whispered, tightening his hold on her.

"Try not to think about it," she told him, her words muffled as she pressed herself against him. "We don't have to just yet."

Comforted by his presence, she held him in silence and enjoyed his warmth. Maybe later Deidara would be gone, but for the moment he was all that mattered. Maybe later she would be stronger, and facing the future wouldn't seem so daunting. Maybe later they would know the time was right, and together they could face the difficulties brought on by their inevitable journey home. Reassured by these thoughts, Sakura relaxed her hold on him and tilted her head up to meet him in a kiss.

But in the end, the decision to go home wasn't hers to make.

* * *

From the very beginning, Sakura could tell that the day was going to be different from most. She'd scarfed down her breakfast, given Deidara a kiss as he slept, pushed him away as he then tried to drag her back into bed, and dashed off to work. A light rain fell softly against the cobblestones, but Sakura's years of training granted her the balance to avoid slipping on the wet streets. There were more people out than usual at this hour, particularly for a rainy day, and the signs in the shops were still turned to 'closed', but other than that everything seemed normal as she made her way to the clinic. When she arrived, however, she found that the door was locked.

She frowned. The clinic should be open – usually Alvara was awake by this time. She spent a few minutes knocking, waiting, and worrying that something had happened to the healer before a passerby approached her with some interesting news: no one was working this morning. From what Sakura could gather from the woman's thick accent and awkward phrasing, there was some sort of festival going on at the harbour.

During her time in Cìen there had been the occasional fair or celebration, but never one that merited the closure of Alvara's clinic. Intrigued, she made her way down to the port. As she passed by her house, however, she decided to make a slight detour.

As expected, Deidara was still asleep. Sakura stood in the doorway and watched him for a moment, a smile playing across her lips. Her absence in the bed had given him the opportunity to sprawl out across it, gathering all the covers into a tangled mess around him.

Seating herself on the edge of the bed, she reached out to twirl a strand of blond hair around her finger.

"Aren't you supposed to be at work, yeah?" Deidara mumbled sleepily and buried his head further into the pillow. "And stop pulling my hair."

"There's no work today," she said. "Something's happening down at the harbour. If you wake up we can go check it out together.

He raised his head so as to squint out the window across the room, before collapsing back into his previous position. "It's raining."

Sakura frowned at the tone of finality in his voice. "Well if you don't want to go, I'll just have to go by myself."

She'd hardly stood up before his hand closed around her wrist. "Actually," he began, all traces of sleep gone from his voice, "What I meant was that since it's raining, we should wait a few minutes to see if it stops, yeah."

She arched an eyebrow at him, fighting to keep a straight face as he grinned impishly at her. "And how do you propose we do that?"

Deidara, as it turned out, had a few ideas.

* * *

"Your plan kind of backfired," Sakura noted when at last they set out to the harbour. What had previously been a light shower of rain had turned into a downpour.

"You can't say it wasn't worth it though, yeah." Despite the way their hair stuck to their faces and their clothes soaked through in a matter of seconds, Sakura was inclined to agree.

As they approached the harbour, the streets grew busier. Huddling next to Deidara, Sakura shivered as they followed the crowd through the deluge. The area around the docks was packed. A large ship, one that Sakura had never seen before, seemed to be the centre of attention. She'd never seen Cìen this busy – the whole town seemed to have shown up, undeterred by the weather. Even shopkeepers had abandoned their storefronts and set up covered stalls to sell their wares.

Taking refuge under one of the vendors' tarps, Sakura stood on her tiptoes to get a better view of the strange ship. It was larger than any other she'd ever seen; the mast alone was taller than any of the buildings in town. The sails were lashed tightly against the mast, but a single flag blew wildly in the wind – it wasn't one that Sakura recognized.

"Let's get a closer look, yeah," said Deidara, his curiosity overtaking his aversion to the rain.

Sakura grimaced. "I'm sure it's a nice boat, but I'd much rather stay here." He blinked at her, so she added, "Where it's nice and dry."

Those were the wrong words, and she knew it the instant they were out of her mouth. Deidara's eyes lit up, a smirk spread across his face, and Sakura resigned herself to the inevitable teasing that she'd brought upon herself.

Deidara opened his mouth and began to say something that Sakura had no doubt was a comment about her being a too delicate, weak, or an otherwise pathetic excuse for a supposed ninja. He was interrupted, however, as he was pushed forward suddenly. Behind him, a man winced as he realized he hadn't been too careful while opening his umbrella.

Startled, he rounded on the man. "Hey! Watch it, yeah!"

The offending townsperson struggled to close his umbrella, mumbled apologies, and fled into the rain to escape Deidara's glare.

As Deidara attempted to burn holes in the back of the man's head using only the power of his gaze, Sakura turned her attention to the vendor's table behind them. The girl tending the table gave her a friendly nod before greeting another customer. Noticing one of the items up for sale, Sakura tugged on Deidara's sleeve. "Let's get one of those," she said as she pointed to a pile of nondescript black umbrellas that rested on one side of the stand.

Deidara narrowed his eyes, one corner of his mouth curving upwards in an expression that told Sakura she should be suspicious. "I'll take care of this, yeah."

She grabbed his arm before he could move away. "With _money_," she reminded him, keeping her voice quiet but firm. "If I can't use my healing chakra, then you can't go around stealing things. What happened to keeping our heads down?"

"But you _did_ use your healing chakra. And besides, I wasn't going to steal it," he insisted. When Sakura crossed her arms, unconvinced, he broke out into an evil grin. "In weather like this, giving them away for free is like community service, yeah?"

"Just go pay for it," she ground out between her teeth, struggling to control her temper. As much as it was reassuring that some things about him would never change, it could also be equally frustrating.

She kept a careful eye on him as he approached the table. Deidara frowned as he handed over the money with great reluctance, as though it were solid gold rather than a few flimsy copper pieces. When he returned, she snatched their purchase from his hands and strode out from under the seller's tent, now protected from the rain.

The docks were packed and Sakura found it hard to keep from bumping into people. Holding the umbrella as high as she could, she tried to strike a balance between keeping herself dry and not injuring others.

"Ouch! You almost took out my eye, yeah!"

"What a pity," she said with little sympathy. Her patience wore thin as she was jostled by the crowd.

When the umbrella was wrested suddenly from her grasp, Sakura glanced up in surprise. "I'll hold it, yeah," said Deidara as he looked down at her, all signs of affection carefully hidden behind an unpleasant sneer. "Since apparently that's beyond your capacities."

He strode away quickly, muttering derogatory remarks about short people. Sakura shook her head in annoyance, but looped an arm around his to avoid being separated from her source of shelter.

When at last they stood before the ship, dwarfed by its enormous wooden hull, they were met with a familiar face.

Alvara stood beneath her own black umbrella, looking even more dour than usual. She nodded at Sakura in greeting, acknowledging Deidara with only a quick glance and a deeper frown. Sakura had little doubt that Deidara was ignoring the healer completely.

"Where have you been?" Alvara asked in disbelief. "How did you manage to ignore the excitement going on down here all morning?" When Deidara and Sakura were unable to keep glowing smiles from their faces, Alvara grimaced and added quickly, "Never mind, I really don't want to know."

Shoving the pleasant memories from her mind, Sakura looked up at the strange ship and asked, "What's going on here?"

"It's a tradition," Alvara began. "Every year the town celebrates when the first ship comes in from another port. It's a sign that spring is here at last, and the sea is safe for fishing." Her face darkened and her voice was laced with bitterness. "Of course, it isn't _really_. There's still the occasional drowning or hypothermia case when someone is a little too careless – the waters are rough until the summer. But when the Captain comes around for the first time each year – he's _always_ the first ship here – it's taken as a sign that it's time to get the boats back out to sea."

Sakura glanced over at Deidara, who looked equally puzzled. Turning back to Alvara, she asked, "Err, _the_ Captain?"

"There's no other like me!" said a voice from behind her.

Sakura turned and watched as the crowd around her parted in awe to make way for a man. Between the rich, exotic fabrics of his clothes and the jewelry and charms that hung from gold and silver chains, the man was dressed in enough colours to make a peacock blush. He grinned roguishly, causing the lines in his weathered skin to shift, and seemed oblivious to the rain that drenched his outfit and weighed down the long feather stuck in his hat. He bowed low and made a grandiose gesture with his hands as he swept off his hat in respect. His hair was soaked with water, but still the red mane shone brightly, the eccentric colour of dye thinning at the roots to reveal a faded grey.

"Ladies," he greeted them smoothly, his eyes twinkling even as the rain caused his long moustache to stick to his face. Sakura felt Deidara tense beside her as the strange man fixed his eyes on her and completely overlooked her companion's presence. "It is for encounters such as this that I look forward to my visits to Cìen."

Before Sakura had the chance to protest, the man had swept up her hand and brushed his lips against it. As Sakura stood frozen in shock, Deidara's anger became all the more apparent. "You must be Alvara's protégé – the one the town is so excited about." Releasing her hand and seemingly oblivious to Deidara's mounting outrage, he gave her a charming smile. "_Enchanté_."

"Err," Sakura stammered, her sense of calm destroyed by the man's actions.

Before he could notice her lack of a coherent response, the man had shifted his attention to the healer. "Alvara, like a fine wine you grow lovelier with each passing year." He twirled his moustache and grinned broadly as the healer's scowl deepened. "Each time I am blessed with a chance to lay eyes on you, your beauty and wisdom seem to have grown tenfol--"

"—Let's cut the pleasantries and skip straight to business," said Alvara brusquely, cutting off the man's words. "Did you bring me those herbs I asked for?"

The man faltered, but quickly regained his composure. "I think," he said proudly as he reached into an inner pocket of his vest and withdrew a small, paper parcel, "That you'll find these to your liking. The tribes of the north reassured me that their own chiefs swear by the medicinal value of –"

"—What did you do to these things?" the healer growled as she opened the package and poked at the leaves inside. "Store them in your shirt these past months? They don't even look fit to be boiled for tea!"

When not even this could faze the man, Sakura had the distinct impression that he knew the healer quite well. Well enough, at least, to know that he'd never get a kind word from her. It almost seemed that their exchange was one of long-standing habit.

"You have a keen eye for quality, as usual. But I can assure you that these herbs are of the highest grade. I am certain that under proper light they will withstand even the closest scrutiny. Come! No more standing in the rain!" Turning, he shouted so that all of the gawking townspeople could hear, "To the tavern!"

"Who is that?" Sakura asked as the crowd followed eagerly after the man.

Alvara gave a weary sigh. "That is the Captain – he has a name, but no one calls him by it anymore. He's a legend around here, although by now most people have forgotten that when we were young he was just an ordinary fisherman's son in Cìen. Now he lives on the waves, and every year he makes numerous grand voyages down the coast and across the sea, or wherever the wind takes him."

"He's very, err…" Sakura paused as she struggled for the right word. "_Interesting_."

Deidara muttered something distinctly more critical under his breath, but Alvara continued without noticing, "Every year I ask him for near impossible herbs or medicines, and every year he brings them back for me." The corners of her mouth twitched upwards for a second, so brief that Sakura wasn't sure she'd actually seen it happen. "And every year I have to tell him they're no good – he'd be unbearable otherwise." She narrowed her eyes. "Besides, someone has to take him down a notch or two."

For the first time since they had met the Captain, Deidara's good-humour returned. "You are a hard woman, yeah," he told her with grudging admiration. Alvara's face went blank at this, and Sakura took the lack of an outright negative expression to mean that she was pleased. She also guessed this was the closest those two would ever get to reconciliation.

"And now," said Alvara dryly, returning to the subject at hand. "You'll see why his coming to town is really such a big event."

Just before the Captain disappeared into the tavern, he turned and called out, "Drinks are on me!"

The cheers were deafening.

* * *

"This day has gone distinctly downhill, yeah" Deidara remarked as he sidestepped a tipsy man and barely avoided having beer spilt on his shoes.

Sakura nodded vaguely and tried to concentrate on weaving her way through the crowded tavern as the room seemed to blur and sway. Between the smoke in the air, the heat from too many people in a confined space, and the effects of alcohol – too much consumed too fast for the early afternoon – Sakura felt distinctly unwell. Stumbling against Deidara and cursing the Captain's generosity that had led to free drinks, she held fast to his arm and bit back a moan. "I need to sit down."

"You'd better not puke on me, yeah." He eyed her warily but wrapped a steadying arm around her waist and guided her towards a table. Seats were in high demand, however, and try as he might, not even a pointed glare could convince their occupants to move. "Damn," he muttered, glancing around for an open seat as he propped up Sakura.

"A lady in distress! This is a matter I cannot ignore!" cried a familiar, booming voice, and Sakura watched as Deidara's jaw clenched in annoyance. Turning her head, she winced as the movement sent the room spinning. The Captain waved a hand at the man seated next to him. "Out of that chair! Where is your sense of chivalry?"

As Sakura was lowered into the now empty chair, she was dimly aware that Deidara knelt beside her and Alvara watched from across the table, raising an eyebrow in question.

"She's a lightweight," Deidara explained, a hint of teasing behind his words.

Sakura didn't have the strength to argue. "I feel _awful_," she groaned.

"Yes," said Alvara without a trace of sympathy. "The local moonshine'll do that to you."

"Some rest fresh air and you'll be fine!" The Captain grinned at her as he continued to down his drink. Even the sight of the ale sloshing in the glass mug sent Sakura's stomach churning. "Like I always say, a bit of sea breeze will cure what ails you!"

Sakura didn't quite know how to respond, so instead she squinted at the Captain and willed her vision to stop blurring.

"I've had passengers who've said that two weeks at sea is a better cure than all the medicine in the world."

"Well I don't know about that," muttered Alvara.

Deidara's evident dislike of the Captain vanished. He leaned forward and asked, "Passengers, yeah?"

"Of course!" replied the Captain. "The ship's too big for just me and my crew, so we take on a few guests at every port. What do you say?" He wiggled his eyebrows, dyed the same bright red as his hair. "Are you and your ladyfriend up for some adventure on the high seas? We're planning to travel south along the coast for a bit, since there's a few good trading towns down that way. After that we'll go all the way across the sea to the Fire Country! Haven't been there in a while and exotic locations are always exciting. We'll leave tomorrow morning, just as soon as we've got fresh supplies."

_The Fire Country_. Sakura's feeling of unease grew again and she swallowed uncomfortably. It wasn't the alcohol this time. Instead, the Captain's sobering words jolted her back to reality. A reality in which what should have been joyous news was twisted in the face of feelings. Before this point, Sakura knew that her eventual goal was to return home, but without a concrete way to achieve this she could push it from her mind. Now it was all happening too fast – the inevitable separation that she feared was suddenly impossible to ignore.

Deidara was silent for a moment as he watched Sakura. She met his eyes and willed this all to be some horrible dream. "How much is it?" he asked slowly, keeping his gaze locked with Sakura's.

"Fifteen gold pieces each, or twenty-eight for the both of you because I'm feeling generous." He grinned broadly and winked at Sakura. "And because it'll be nice to have a pretty lady on board, of course."

Unable to contain her emotions, Sakura exhaled shakily and returned the smile. The Captain seemed almost startled at this but beamed back, oblivious to what she was really happy about: they couldn't afford passage. Although they had put aside some money each week to contribute to their eventual journey home, they did so half-heartedly. There was no possible way that their meager savings could equal twenty-eight gold pieces. Somewhere in the back of her mind, Sakura knew she should feel ashamed to be so relieved, but she could worry about that when the alcohol faded entirely.

"That's a bit steep, yeah," said Deidara, and Sakura wanted very badly to tell him to be quiet before he ruined her excuse to stay in Cìen. Her sense of panic rising, she felt her chest tighten. "Maybe we can negotiate something else?"

Before the Captain had a chance to respond, Sakura stood up, her inebriated state causing her to knock over her chair. "I feel sick," she announced, neglecting to mention the real reason why. "Really, really sick. Let's go home." She cast a pleading glance at Deidara as he seemed confused over her sudden outburst.

"Can't you just wait a little –" he began, but stopped short at the sight of her eyes, wide and sad and a little bit scared. "Okay, okay, we'll go home."

"I'll be back later, yeah," he said to the Captain, all previous hostility he'd held towards the man gone.

He nodded. "Take good care of her."

When they stepped outside, the rain had stopped, leaving the air damp and fresh. The afternoon sun shone through the remnants of the storm clouds, illuminating the droplets of rain that clung to windows. Sakura took a deep breath, trying to dispel the feeling of nausea brought on by the alcohol and the realization that her time with Deidara was coming to an end as the situation spun from her control.

"_Great_ time to feel sick, yeah," Deidara muttered as he helped her walk, making no effort to guide her around puddles. "You're never drinking again."

Sakura turned her head to bury her face, hot with shame, into his sleeve and said nothing. She held onto him closer than she would ever have dared do in public while sober. It was pathetic, she knew, that she would do everything in her power to avoid returning to Konoha. To stay with a former enemy rather than return to life-long friends. She was being selfish too, robbing him of the chance to return to his art, giving herself and her own feelings priority above all else. Even knowing all this, she couldn't bring herself to end their time together.

"Wait!"

Sakura turned cautiously, trying to ignore the beginnings of a headache. Alvara had followed them out of the bar and made her way towards them.

"I'll try to talk him down in his price," she said. "I know how important it is for you to get back home safely. It's likely he'll be here all night, so come back later and perhaps he'll be less of an extortionist."

Sakura gave the healer what she hoped was a thankful grin, although really this was the last thing she wanted to happen. Her inebriation, however, did not allow her to hide her true emotions entirely. Alvara studied her face for a moment. "You know," she began, "He'll probably listen to me. We go back a long time." Her words were hesitant, as though she were divulging a great secret.

"We started out like you two." She glared at Deidara, daring him to make a crack at her age or an expression of disgust. When he said nothing, she continued, "But we were very different people. He couldn't live without the sea, and I wouldn't give up my healer's apprenticeship. So we went out separate ways." She frowned, her eyebrows creasing. "But we didn't really, you understand? Even though we exist in two different worlds, they always meet at some point. It could be every week, after a few months, or even once a year. We each have to do what is right for us, but if the bond is strong enough it never truly breaks."

Deidara was silent and Sakura, in her tipsy state, could only wonder vaguely why the healer was telling them this.

"But what am I doing trying to lecture you? Young people never take advice, even if it's good." Alvara pushed her glasses up with a finger in an oddly self-conscious gesture. "Are you sure you'll be fine to walk home?" she asked, changing the subject.

"Oh _come on_, I can be trusted enough to get her home safely, yeah."

"Yes," said Alvara slowly, looking Deidara in the eyes. "I know."

Caught off guard by this admission, Deidara was stunned into silence. "We'll be fine," Sakura reassured her, hearing her words slur. "I just had too much to drink, and it was so stuffy in there."

Alvara didn't look entirely convinced, but gave them a nod. "Alright then, take care you two."

She began to turn back to the tavern, but hesitated and turned to face them again. She sighed, and for the first time that Sakura had ever seen, the healer's expression became almost sad. For a moment she seemed to struggle with her words, before finally she said simply, "It's been nice having a helper around the clinic."

Sakura swallowed hard and bit her lip as she felt her eyes begin to water. Alvara's words had sounded too much like a good-bye. "What are you saying?" she asked, willing her voice not to shake. "I'll be there again tomorrow."

Alvara watched her for a moment, as though committing every detail of her to memory, and then said dryly, "Not with the hangover you're going to have."

* * *

Fortunately, Sakura found that Alvara's prediction was incorrect when she awoke from her nap. She supposed she had Deidara to thank for that, although at the time she hadn't been too thrilled as he all but force-fed her glass after glass of water. Stretching lightly, she glanced at the curtain-less window. From the darkness outside, she guessed it was the middle of the night. Oddly though, Deidara was not asleep beside her.

Abandoning the empty bed, Sakura went into the kitchen, where the light was still on. Deidara sat unmoving at the table, his head in heads. In front of him lay a canvas with brushes and paints set beside it.

"Are you alright?" she asked softly.

"Yeah," he said, looking up and shaking his head as though to clear his mind. "Just thinking."

She moved to sit beside him and reached across the table to take his hands in hers. He tensed at the contact but did not move away. "It's very pretty," she said, nodding towards the painting on the table. It was a simple view of a row of houses, ones that Sakura had passed many times on her way around town. The houses leaned into each other, as though desperately struggling to stay upright, and the old, decaying wooden shutters were offset by the charming stone of the walls. The long shadows were edged with the reddish hues that Deidara's palette usually favoured, and the layers of paint were applied in thick, bold brushstrokes.

"It's not, yeah," he said as he looked at the painting, more to avoid Sakura's gaze than anything else. "But let's hope someone thinks it is – we need to sell it."

"Why?" she asked, ignoring the answer she _knew_, but didn't want to accept. "We have enough money to get us through the week."

"Sakura…" When at last he looked at her, his tone and gaze both warned her not to make this any more difficult than it would already be. "We need to go home. You know that, yeah. We can't stay here forever – we don't belong here. And now we've been given the perfect chance --"

"But I'm not ready!" she blurted out. Feeling herself blush at her sudden outburst, she added softly, "I don't think I ever will be."

"I don't want to go either, yeah," he admitted. "But we have to now or we never will."

"That's fine!"

"It's not fine!" His voice rose in the beginnings of anger, but he checked himself and continued softly, "We can't keep living here with the constant threat of detection. And what if we run into someone we know from the past? If we're seen together we'll both be branded as traitors. So we shouldn't pass up this opportunity to go home. Somehow we need to come up with the money."

"I know," she said, suddenly feeling foolish. "I know we have to go home. I just…" At a loss for what else to say, Sakura set her jaw stubbornly and held his gaze. She knew that Deidara's reasoning was entirely correct, yet she couldn't bring herself to accept it.

"And why am I being the voice of reason, yeah?" Deidara asked, perplexed. "Things aren't supposed to work like this. Normally _I_ should come up with the brilliant, insane ideas, and then _you_ get to be the wet blanket."

Sakura couldn't help but smile. "I think we've been around each other for too long and through some strange twist we've absorbed parts of each other's personalities. I'm finally being selfish and thinking of myself for once, and stubbornly too – who does that sound like? And you're concerned for our safety and futures. Not just yours, but mine too. That's just downright weird."

Her words tumbled out of their own freewill, mostly intended to be lighthearted and teasing, but as they materialized she wondered if there was not a good deal of truth behind them.

"Clearly you're a bad influence on me, yeah."

Sakura grinned halfheartedly, but forced herself to return to the more serious subject at hand. "It's true though – I _am _being selfish. I know this, and yet I can't bring myself to let all this go. I understand that we won't be happy here forever." Swallowing down an uncomfortable lump in her throat, she continued, "We've been raised to use chakra. We won't be able to suppress it forever. Either that or I'll end up letting someone die that could have been saved, or you'll miss your art too much. In the end we'll both be unhappy and that --" She struggled with her words, so full of truth that they were painful. "That will tear us apart."

He nodded slowly. "So you see why it's important that we go home, yeah? And it's not like we'll never --" He paused. "We'll see each other again, yeah."

"Will we really?" she asked doubtfully.

"Well," he said, with the guilty tone of someone called on a lie. "We _might_."

Sakura's heart fell and before she could stop herself she felt her emotions show plainly on her face.

"Goddamnit," Deidara swore as he took one look at her expression, the very picture of misery. "Don't make that face. Of course we'll see each other again."

"How do you know?"

"'Cause that's what I want, yeah, so I'll make it happen."

Sakura laughed at this, breaking the tension in the air. "You know," she said as she regained her calm, "There really are no right decisions for us to make in this situation, only an endless number of wrong ones. There isn't a single solution that will make us both safe and happy. But we have to make a choice all the same, and that's _awful_."

"It is, yeah," he sighed. "But I think the best thing we can do is get together some money so that at least one of us can afford to go back."

Sakura froze. "What do you mean by 'one of us'?"

"Exactly that, yeah." He glanced at the painting on the table, if only to avoid looking her in the eyes. "The most I've ever sold a painting for is ten gold pieces. If I can sell this one for that much or more we should be alright. We haven't saved enough money to pay the full fifteen he wants, but I think I can talk the price down enough that one of us can go back to the Fire Country."

Sakura felt a sickening feeling of panic and dread rise in her chest. This nightmare kept getting worse. "No," she said flatly. "We're going back together or we're not going at all. How can you even think otherwise?" The more she considered his suggestion, the harder it was to keep her temper at bay. "At least if we both go we'll have a few last weeks together, enough time to properly say goodbye and –"

"– and then when we get back to the Fire Country we'll go through this torture all over again, yeah. Or be recognized together and get labeled as traitors –"

"Stop trying to sound so noble!" she snapped at him. "You keep saying this will be for our own good, and maybe it is, but I can't bring myself to leave you so easily! Tease me about it, whatever, I don't care. But you're making this seem like it'll be so easy for you and I can't help but think that--" Her voice caught in her throat before she managed to spill her words. "_Do I really mean so little to you?_"

She regretted her words immediately, not only because they came out strangled and pathetic, but also because they destroyed all traces of the mask of composure worn so precariously on Deidara's face.

"What are you talking about, yeah? Idiot." His voice wavered as he tried in vain to control his emotions, but it was no use and Sakura could hear his heart breaking alongside hers through every word. "You know that's not true, so don't make me spout out crap about feelings and whatever – you know I won't do that."

He tried to make himself sound calm, dismissive even, but failed miserably. Uncertain what else to do, Sakura squeezed his hand comfortingly, feeling the familiar warmth despite the tenseness in his fingers as he held her hands a little too tight.

"This isn't easy, yeah," he admitted. "But I think you understand why we should do this."

Sakura watched him for moment, taking a deep breath before she dared to speak. "I do," she said at last. "I really, really do understand. But I still don't like it and I know I won't be able to leave. So you're going to have to be the one to leave first. I know I'm being downright silly, but I can't bring myself to do this. But if you want to gather together the money and leave tomorrow, I won't stop you."

As she waited for his reply, the sensation of dread drowned out all else; she held her breath, barely saw the room surrounding her, and didn't notice the faint, nervous beating of her heart.

"Why am I always underestimated, yeah?" His frown was exaggerated, almost theatric, and yet it only partially concealed the deep despair in his eyes. "You think I'd leave you here, alone and with the constant threat of danger? My moral code might be a little less strict than your own, but _really_."

"I don't see how leaving me here alone is a problem," she shot back, just to be stubborn. "Is it really any more dangerous than sending me out to sea?"

"Don't start," he warned with a growl. "I'm not leaving first, and that's final, yeah."

"Well neither am I." Sakura clenched her teeth in frustration, but knew that neither of them would ever budge no matter how hard they glared at each other.

"You are so infuriatingly stubborn, yeah."

"Pot calling the kettle bl–"

"–Don't say it. I know, I know."

As they fell into silence, Sakura sighed and considered her options. They were at an impasse and she was at a loss for what to do. Deep down she knew she had to leave Cìen, leave _him_, and yet she couldn't bring herself to do it. But at the same time, she was realistic enough to know that even if she stayed and was happy for a while there would eventually come a time when she would feel remorse or guilt for having abandoned her home. Both choices came with high prices, and Sakura found herself unwilling to make the final decision.

Fully aware that her inner self was throwing a fit over her pathetic inability to decide, Sakura considered her options. She wouldn't leave of her own free will, yet she needed to. With these thoughts circling through her head, Sakura quickly became frustrated. Everything would be so much easier if there was someone to decide for her, and it wasn't fair in the first place that she had to choose between her old life and her new one.

"Anyway, you're going home, yeah. There are so many reasons why you have to. You know it's for the best so stop being stubborn. Don't make me…" His words trailed off as he was unable to voice empty threats.

As her gaze snapped back to meet his, Sakura's temper flared. He was only suggesting the most logical solution, but it hurt to know that his feelings for her didn't override his judgment. Maybe he was right, but the way he kept pushing her to leave made her feel as though his feelings towards her weren't very strong. But if he really wanted her to leave, she thought irrationally, it would take more than words.

"Don't make you do what?" she asked harshly, projecting far more confidence than she actually had. "You know it'll take more than that to make me listen to you. So if you really want me gone as much as you seem to, then _make me_."

She watched him swallow slowly, almost nervously, his eyes widening slightly as he anticipated her words. To his credit he didn't plead with her, didn't beg her not to say it, only waited in silent dread for the blow to fall. It wasn't easy for her to continue but he took no pity on her so with a sharp spike of anger and injustice Sakura found that she could offer none to him.

"Just try to make me leave. I dare you."

He sat frozen, unable to move as her challenge rang in the air.

"Just try it," she repeated, standing so as to look down on him. "If you want me to go so badly, you'll have to make me."

Her temper had always been her weak point, and perhaps it was his as well. He stood slowly and held her gaze as she clenched her teeth, her face going pink from anger. "You don't mean that, yeah." His voice was low and dangerous; it was a tone she hadn't heard in a long time.

His warning was one that she should have heeded – should have known not to push him further – but she was worried, frustrated, heartbroken and upset, and as all of this combined she found that it was now her anger that controlled her words. "I dare you," she continued, her voice rising even as it broke with emotion. "_Make me go_ if that's what you want so much – because otherwise _I won't_."

She drew in a shaky breath, too upset to be ashamed or even notice that tears had spilled from her eyes. With her challenge issued, she could do nothing but wait for his answer. She could see that he was tense, fraught with the same difficult feelings that she was and just as caught by his temper.

"Goddamnit," he swore.

Sakura was about to shout at him again, complain that now was the time for him to be more articulate than that, but she wasn't given the chance.

Before she could react, he stepped forward and pulled her into a kiss. It was like none other they had ever shared – except perhaps that first truly passionate kiss in the alleyway, as for a moment neither of them was aware of anything but each other.

As he kissed her, Sakura was pushed uncomfortably up against the table. The only thing that kept her from falling back over it was his hands – one wound tightly in her hair, the other holding her firmly around the waist. The force of their collision with the table sent paints and brushes clattering off the edge onto the floor, but all of this went unnoticed. The only thing that Sakura could truly register was that she was here with him and while he would never admit his feelings through words, in moments like this she understood him all too well.

She returned the kiss, wrapping her arms around him and squeezing him as tight as she could as she blinked away tears. For once she didn't mind that he hadn't voiced his feelings because this was better than words could ever be, and she swore that through the desperation of his embrace and the feel of his lips, still dry from the harsh winter wind, she understood every ounce of despair, anger, and care that he poured into that moment.

The kiss might have lasted seconds or hours, she had no way of knowing. But the time didn't matter, only the feeling, and Sakura would later feel awful for at that moment thinking that if this were her first, last, and only kiss with him she would be satisfied.

When at last he broke away, he looked at her with such emotion in his eyes – that shade of blue she would never forget – that Sakura felt her tears rise up again.

"Sakura, I –" He stopped suddenly, and she held her breath.

Was he about to say what she thought he was? Those three words? Was he, who rarely admitted to his feelings, finally going to confess what she now felt so certainly? It almost seemed impossible. And yet, as she held his gaze she could think of nothing else.

He watched her in silence, his gaze intense, as though she was the only thing that mattered and he was locking away this moment forever in his memories. Sakura could only watch back, unaware of the passage of time as she anticipated his words.

Finally, he said: "I'm sorry."

This should have caused her to wonder – during all their months together he had never apologized for anything. Or at least, she should have been disappointed – it wasn't what she wanted to hear. Maybe she should even have been confused, because after a kiss like that what did he have to be sorry for? And if she'd had a moment to think about it, perhaps she should have seen it coming – she knew him better than this, and by now she should have known that he didn't take challenges lightly.

But Sakura didn't have the chance to think any of this, because as she heard his words and kept her eyes locked with his, her world went black.

* * *

The first thing Sakura noticed when she awoke was her splitting headache. The second was that the room was moving.

She groaned and opened her eyes to unfamiliar surroundings, feeling her stomach lurch as the room swayed again. Her back was stiff from the uncomfortable cot she was stretched across, and the wooden walls were of no place she recognized. Even the window above the bed was odd – small and round, just like one that would be on a –

"You're awake at last. I was starting to worry."

Startled, she whipped her head around and tried to focus on the source of the voice. The sudden movement, however, only succeeded in making her headache worse. Wincing at the sharp pain, she tried to focus her vision on the figure seated next to her bed. Without his elaborate outfit and eccentric jewelry, Sakura had a hard time recognizing the man.

"You've been out for a whole day," the Captain explained gently, his voice lacking the energy and mirth that Sakura had heard before in Cìen. Even his clothing was toned down, as he was now dressed in a plain white shirt with a pair of worn cotton pants – an outfit for a man at sea, one who didn't need to show off in front of only his crew.

Confused, Sakura touched a hand to the back of her head, hissing softly as she pressed against a tender area. "What happened? Where am I?" She needed to ask it, even as the answer was all too clear.

The man was silent for a moment, as though dreading to be the bearer of bad news. "You're on my ship, sailing towards the Fire Country."

Sakura didn't react – how could she when she half didn't believe it? – so the Captain said gently, "That young man, the blond one, he paid for your passage. I thought at first it was him who was leaving, and that was why he --" His voice broke off suddenly, but he continued, "I figured that was why he seemed so sad. It wasn't until we were already a few leagues out that we knocked on the cabin door and found you here instead."

Sakura swallowed hard and glanced down, staring at her hands as they clenched the thin blanket on the cot. A sharp pang of nausea hit her, but she couldn't tell whether it was from her emotions or the gentle swaying of the ship.

"I won't ask anything," the Captain said, his face suddenly showing its age as his eyes reflected the wisdom and sympathy of someone who had lived through similar experiences. "Why he did it or how you two mysterious strangers ended up in Cìen – we're all entitled to our secrets. But if it makes you feel any better – no, those aren't the right words. Just believe me when I say: the last time I saw him, it looked like he was about to do the hardest thing he'd ever done."

Sakura nodded slightly, afraid to speak in case her voice betrayed her. But she felt her lip begin to tremble and her eyes water and suddenly she couldn't bear to be in the stuffy cabin any longer.

Throwing off the sheet that had been tucked around her, she bolted from the room, leaving the man stunned in her wake. The corridor outside the cabin was lined with dark wooden planks, and Sakura found that she could believe less and less that this was all some terrible dream. She ran to the end of the hall and bounded up the steps, two at a time in her haste to get outside.

When she threw open the door, not even the shock of the cool sea air could faze her. She flung herself against the handrail, the wood cold and damp but offering a reassuring support beneath her hands.

"_I didn't mean it!_" she shouted at the sea, but her voice only carried out over the waves and she was left with no reply.

"I didn't mean it," she repeated weakly, but it was too late.

Her breath was short, panicked, and her mind raced to find some understanding in the situation. She didn't know what she was feeling – it was all too much for her to sort out. There was anger there, that much was undeniable, but her emotions ran deeper than that. It was too difficult, too sudden for her to comprehend though, so she focused on her rage and grit her teeth.

She was at a loss for what to do next, how to handle the situation, so she said the first thing that came to mind. "I am so going to kill him," she said to herself with conviction, but was then hit by a sudden thought. _When? _When would she be able to wring his neck now that she was sailing back to the Fire Country and he was a continent away?

Gradually she became aware of the cold, of the smell of the sea, of the creaking of the wooden ship, the sound of the sails as they struck against the mast, and how the elderly captain had emerged onto the deck and watched over her carefully. Sakura released her grip on the wooden rail, her hands falling helplessly to her side as she swayed along with the movement of the ship.

This was real, she told herself yet unable to fully believe it. This was truly happening. And she should have known, should have known not to push him to do it, but she couldn't work out whether she should be more angry at herself for being so _stupid_ or at him for taking her challenge seriously. For betraying her – because that was what it felt it like, when it came down to it. A betrayal of all they'd built up, a stab at her foolish ideas that enemies could reconcile their differences and the fairy tale notion that love conquered all. This was a blow to her pride unlike any she'd received before, and she should have been sad, but as she clung to her last scraps of dignity she couldn't allow herself that luxury.

A strong wave jostled the ship and Sakura stumbled to one side. The sudden movement cleared her mind, and as she slowly regained her balance she felt her eyes prickle with tears. She blinked and told herself they were tears of rage – or maybe just from the salt of the sea, because she wasn't sad. No, she told herself forcefully as the wind whipped at her hair and her nails dug crescents into her palms, she wasn't sad.


	16. Epilogue

**Title:** Somewhere I Have Never Travelled, Gladly Beyond  
**Fandom:** Naruto  
**Type:** Multi-chaptered  
**Status: **Complete  
**Pairings:** Deidara/Sakura  
**Word count:** 9,347

* * *

**Chapter 16 - Epilogue**

**

* * *

  
**

It was the longest and most painful breakup of her life.

At first she'd held it in. She'd told herself that he wasn't worth wasting her emotions on – not after what he'd done. But she couldn't stop thinking, couldn't stop remembering, so she tried to distract herself by making herself useful on the ship. The sailors had welcomed her help, clapped her on the back and told her stories of their own past relationships, saying that in the end everything would work out for the best. She'd see, they said, she just needed to give it time. She thanked them and smiled a smile that didn't quite reach her eyes, and thought that maybe she felt a bit better. Then she'd go back to her cabin and dream of him – his eyes, his smile, his touch – and when she woke up she felt sick.

By the time she'd landed on Fire Country soil, she'd stopped trying to pretend.

It hurt. And not just because it was a betrayal – of her trust, of their relationship, of the balance of power between them – but because she missed him like she'd never missed anyone else. When Sasuke had left Konoha all those years ago she'd missed him too, but it wasn't the same. She'd missed Sasuke deeply because he was a friend, a part of her team, and the sun of her adolescent world. But now, with a sharp pang of guilt, she found herself missing Deidara for all that and more.

Their time together had been full of change – ever-present danger had meant that nothing was certain. But throughout everything, the one thing that had remained the same was his presence. Eventually they'd progressed beyond mere cooperation to friendship, and then to a new level that she couldn't categorize simply as romantic, but something more that she wasn't quite sure how to describe. He had become such a constant in her life that now she half expected at every moment to hear a sarcastic quip, spring into an argument, or just catch the strange way that he'd end his phrases.

It was an awful feeling to miss him so terribly, but during her trek back to Konoha she couldn't keep him from her mind. And when at last she was offered a moment's reprieve from thoughts of him, she would inevitably find something to say, only to have her heart sink as she turned towards a companion that wasn't there.

But none of that was the worst. Not by far.

The worst was waking up in the morning on the cold hard ground and her body, long accustomed, would fully expect to find itself a comforting source of warmth if only it just curled a bit more to one side. Then Sakura would crack open her eyes, blinded at first by the sunlight pouring through the trees, and realize suddenly and shatteringly once again that she was alone.

It was in this state that she stumbled out of the forest one day and found the great walls of Konoha looming over her. She stared up at them in surprise, not only because she'd lost track of how long she'd been walking, but also because she half believed that this was all some terrible nightmare from which she would awake and find herself still in Cìen. Still with him.

The guards at the wall eyed her with suspicion. It wasn't every day they had someone stumble across the hidden village. Much less a girl who bordered on both pathetic and pitiful, with twigs in her hair and dirt that stuck to her face in streaks where there had previously been tears.

"Identify yourself," called one of the guards.

Her voice came out strangled at first, unused for days and thick from crying. "S-Sakura Haruno," she choked out, and as the sound of her own voice brought her crashing back to reality, she collapsed.

* * *

When she came to, she didn't recognize her surroundings. Propping herself up gently on one elbow, she took in the small, concrete holding cell, completely bare except for the hard cot she was stretched out on. She stood carefully, worried that she would pass out again, and made her way to the door, wrapping her hands around the metal bars of the small window.

"Hello?" she called. Her voice echoed faintly down the corridor.

She heard a chair scrape against the floor, and was soon met with the face of a jounin she didn't recognize. "You're finally awake," he said, eyeing her suspiciously.

"Why am I -"

"Questions later," he cut her off brusquely. "There's someone here to see you."

Sakura glared after him as he turned and walked away without another word. Making a mental note not to be gentle with that particular jounin if he ever needed medical attention, Sakura reseated herself on the cot and wondered what was in store for her.

She didn't have long to wait. Two sets of steps echoed down the hallway, coming to a stop in front of the cell. Sakura heard the jingle of keys and the scratch of metal on metal as the door's lock was released.

"Come on!" The voice was impatient and heart-wrenchingly familiar. "Open it faster!"

"Be careful," said the jounin. "We don't know for sure if she is who she claims to be."

As the door swung open, Sakura ceased to be aware of anything except for the ninja in front of her. She held her breath, frozen in place.

"S-Sakura," he choked out, his blue eyes wide.

Struggling to her feet, Sakura was still in a state of shock. "Naruto?" she whispered, half suspecting that her mind was playing tricks on her.

But as they stared at each other for a long moment, each unable to believe their eyes, Sakura began to understand that this was no trick. She was in Konoha, face to face with her teammate, her friend – the one who had inadvertently sent her off on the journey of a lifetime. He was just as she remembered: bright blue eyes, spiky blond hair that stuck out wherever it pleased, and that same awful orange jumpsuit. When she looked at him closer though, it was clear that he had changed. He'd grown taller, as any teenage boy was prone to do, but there were also dark circles under his eyes, accompanied by a certain tiredness in his expression. Gone was the boyish optimism, replaced instead with the world-weariness of an adult.

"We all thought you were dead," Naruto blurted out with his usual tact.

Sakura couldn't help but smile. Whatever changes he'd undergone, at heart he was still the same boy she remembered.

"Naruto…" she repeated, taking a hesitant step towards him, as though uncertain he was truly real.

Naruto grimaced and raised his hands protectively. "Look Sakura," he said warily, "I know I deserve whatever beating is coming to me, but honestly, I didn't mean for that jutsu to hit you. I know I screwed up and --"

She didn't let him finish. Closing the distance between them, she threw her arms around him and hugged him as tight as she could. "I've missed you," she whispered, not caring that her tears left damp marks on his shoulder as she pressed herself against him.

"Umm, Sakura?" He patted her shoulder awkwardly. "Have you seen the medics yet?"

"I'm not crazy, you idiot," she said with a weak laugh, as more tears threatened to spill. "And I'm so glad to see you."

He relaxed a little and returned her hug as she sniffled into his shirt. "I know this probably doesn't mean much, but for what it's worth: I'm sorry."

"Don't be." Surprised to find that she was telling the truth despite all of the pain she'd gone through, she released her hold on Naruto and looked him in the eye so he could tell she was being honest. "I have to thank you, really," she said.

As Naruto creased his eyebrows and tried to figure out why she was _thanking_ him, another figure rushed past the jounin guard into the cell. Sakura blinked and rubbed the tears from her eyes with the back of a hand. As her vision cleared, she sucked in her breath and, to her unending shame, almost began to cry again.

Tsunade said nothing at first, only stared with open-mouthed shock at her former apprentice. She regained her senses quickly enough though, carefully schooling her features into a stiff and formal expression before turning sharply on her heel to address the guard. "You're dismissed," she said coolly. "Organize the paperwork for her immediate release and rehabilitation."

The jounin gave a smart salute and disappeared down the corridor. Tsunade watched the guard until he was out of sight, her back to the cell. When at last he was gone, she turned slowly to face her apprentice, her expression still carefully controlled.

Her semblance of calm didn't last long. The mighty Hokage bit her lower lip to stop it from trembling and swept Sakura into a crushing embrace.

"You _damned fool_," she whispered thickly as she held Sakura close, as though scared she would vanish again. "Why didn't you let us know you were alive?"

Sakura didn't answer. Or rather, she couldn't. For the first time since she'd left Cìen, the dreamlike state that had hung over her cleared and reality took hold. She was finally back in Konoha, reunited with her mentor and friend. This was her home, her life. But while she was overwhelmed by all this, there was still the void left by Deidara. The sensations of joy and relief combined with her sense of loss into a great, confusing emotion that Sakura couldn't put a name to. And so, as Tsunade held her tightly and Naruto rested a comforting hand on her back, Sakura broke down and wept.

* * *

"Really, I'm not crazy," Sakura insisted. She'd lost track of how many times she'd said that in the past hour. "I promise."

The nurse, a young medic-nin that Sakura only vaguely remembered, pursed her lips in an expression that said clearly: _I'll be the judge of that_.

Sakura sighed and sank back into her chair. As per regulations, any ninja returning from a long absence was required to undergo physical and mental examinations. She'd passed the physical part but it seemed like she was almost expected to fail the other tests. Was it really so difficult to think that life outside Konoha wasn't bad enough to drive someone mad? Or did they just not think her capable of undergoing such an incredible journey without losing it?

"Cìen was actually quite nice," Sakura offered, hoping to speed up the interrogation. Maybe if the nurse understood that her life overseas hadn't been particularly horrible she wouldn't be so convinced that Sakura had gone nuts. "Do you want to hear about it?"

The nurse stopped scribbling in her notebook just long enough to raise her eyebrows. "_No_," she said in a tone that left no room for argument.

As the nurse continued to drill her with questions in order to ascertain her mental stability, Sakura came to the unpleasant realization that she'd lived something that most people in Konoha couldn't understand. While ninja frequently left the village for missions, they always returned inside the walls of Konoha – safe, secure, and isolated from the rest of the world. With the exception of a few jounin who took on long-term, undercover missions, few had ever experienced a different way of life or been totally immersed in another world.

Slouching into her chair, weighed down by an unpleasant feeling of defeat, Sakura answered the nurse's questions almost absentmindedly. Yes, she had really been blown half way around the world. Yes, she had used chakra and had encountered enemies. Yes, she had conversed with civilians. No, she had not revealed any information about Konoha. No, she was not unduly stressed or otherwise mentally unstable – although privately she wondered if suffering from heartbreak counted towards that.

The questioning went on in a similar vein until Sakura replied automatically, careful only to neglect mentioning Deidara. Not only because it would cause trouble, but because the thought of him was too much for her to handle. She was happy to be home at last, but these feelings twisted agonizingly at memories of him.

Clenching her hands into fists, Sakura tried to ignore nagging thoughts of him and willed the questioning to be over.

"Well," sighed the nurse at last, "You seem fit to be reintegrated into the village."

"You sound surprised," Sakura remarked bitterly before she could stop herself.

The woman glanced up sharply, and while Sakura realized her mistake she at least noted with relief that the release papers had already been signed. Feeling distinctly awkward, she laughed weakly and tried to pass off her words as a joke.

As she stepped out of the office, Sakura began to understand that readjusting to life in Konoha was going to be slightly harder than expected. She'd grown used to saying whatever she liked, and while sarcastic or scathing comments would have been acceptable in front of Deidara – he'd fire back with something equally mocking, of course – they didn't really fly with the residents of Konoha. To them she was still the sweet and polite, if frighteningly overpowered, medic.

With this depressing thought on her mind, she almost walked into a tall figure in a flak jacket and with a familiar mop of white hair.

"Yo," said Kakashi, cool and casual as if he'd seen her only yesterday. He gave no indication that he was glad to see her, or even that he'd been aware of her absence.

"It's good to see you," she greeted him with a smile. Neither his appearance nor his demeanor had changed in the past months – he was exactly as she remembered. "How have you been? And what are you doing at the hospital – I know you hate this place. You're not hurt, are you?"

He hesitated a moment too long before answering, "Just here for some shots. Routine, you know."

Something nagged at her memory that she couldn't ignore so she asked, "Oh? The set I gave you last year that you aren't due to have again for another five?"

The dark fabric of his mask creased into what Sakura knew was a smile. "That's the one."

Liar, she thought, but left it at that. Was it really so hard for him to admit that he'd come to see her?

Why was she surrounded by men who couldn't deal with their emotions? Deidara would probably have done the same thing – made up an excuse rather than admitting the truth. Sakura had no idea why they bothered to hide their feelings – it wasn't as though caring for someone infringed upon their masculinity.

For a moment she remembered all the times Deidara had tried to appear uninterested in her wellbeing, all the while failing miserably. But these fond memories soured quickly as her heart sent her a sharp pang, reminding her of what he'd done. That she was alone.

Oh gods, she thought as her thoughts snapped back into the present. Maybe the nurse was right. Maybe she was crazy – why else could she not stop thinking about him?

Clamping down on her wandering mind, she refocused on Kakashi and asked, "So how's everything been? Did anything interesting happen while I was gone?"

She needed him to answer, needed him to give her anything other than her memories to think about. But his reply was slow, almost reluctant. "Not much…"

His voice trailed off and he looked away from her, focusing on the white hospital walls. Suspicious, Sakura pushed him further. "I'm surprised," she said with feigned shock. "No exciting missions for Team Seven? Was it really so boring without me around?"

Her tone had been light and playful, but she could tell it was the wrong thing to say. Kakashi watched her for a moment and Sakura cursed his mask – his one impassive eye gave little away.

"We went looking for you," he said bluntly. "Naruto couldn't let you go like that, so we looked for you. For months. He's not the sort to give up."

If Sakura had thought she felt awful before when she had only painful memories of her relationship with Deidara to struggle with, this was infinitely worse. While she had been off gallivanting across foreign lands, worrying herself over feelings like a teenager, losing herself in a hopeless romance – and, how could she forget, occasionally running for her life – they had been looking for her.

And all the while Naruto had dealt with the guilt over her supposed death. No wonder he had changed.

It was awful to know that her friend had suffered so much during her absence, but what made the situation downright wretched was that Sakura had been totally oblivious to his plight. Instead, she had tried selfishly to stay in Cìen, stay with _him_, rather than consider what her friends at home were thinking. And had she got her way, she would have left Naruto with no escape from his remorse.

Sakura tried not to let her shame show. Swallowing down the sickening feeling that rose in her throat, she struggled for a safer topic. "I –" she began, but couldn't find what to say. Kakashi offered no help, just stuffed his hands in his pockets and pretended not to notice his student's discomfort.

She felt awful – how could she have been so selfish to want to stay in Cìen? It was quiet and peaceful, but under the surface it was just as Deidara had said: they were in constant danger. Their time there might have seemed idyllic, but it was nothing more than the eye of the storm.

Had she stayed, not only would she have condemned Naruto to his guilt, there would have come a time when she'd have had to fight again. When she'd have to go on the run, leaving behind the temporary life she'd created.

The memories of fleeing from ninja and being chased across foreign lands prompted a sudden thought, and Sakura cleared her throat before changing the subject. "I need to thank you, by the way."

His one uncovered eye widened slightly, just enough to communicate surprise.

"For all you taught me over the years. It wasn't easy getting back here – I had a few close calls." She smiled sadly, unable to keep away thoughts of fighting alongside Deidara – memories that she no longer knew whether to classify as fond or painful. Most of all she remembered the ill-fated break-in at the castle, during which she'd sworn to tell Kakashi the truth about his teaching. Facing him now though, she couldn't imagine saying anything but kind words. "So I just wanted to thank you for all the training you gave me. I wouldn't be here without it."

As she watched him shuffle his feet, awkward under the praise, Sakura hoped he understood that she was sincere. Maybe Kakashi hadn't given her the same level of attention as her teammates, but she nonetheless felt that she owed him her gratitude.

"Um," said Kakashi as he glanced away, a genius in all but social situations. "It's good to see you too."

With that, he mumbled something about leaving the milk out of the fridge, made a handseal and vanished.

Sakura shook her head as the smoke from the jutsu dissipated. He hadn't changed a bit.

* * *

"Well if they haven't been burned yet I don't think it'll be a problem. But _why_ would you want to keep those old things?"

"I--" Sakura almost lost her nerve under Tsuande's questioning stare before finishing weakly: "I just like them, that's all."

Tsunade gave her a frown, unconvinced. "They're not very practical clothing for a ninja."

"That's true," Sakura conceded. "But I still want to keep them."

Tsunade kept her gaze focused on her student, and the unnerving stare almost made Sakura tell her to just forget about the silly request. At last though, the Hokage waved a hand and said, "Alright, I'll get Shizune to look into getting your clothes back for you."

Sakura let out the breath she'd been holding. "_Thank you_," she said, slightly embarrassed at how much she meant it.

Her old jeans from Cìen were likely torn and faded after her journey to Konoha, but that didn't matter – she didn't really care about them anyway. But for some reason, the thought of parting with her sweater – the one given to her by _him_ – was unthinkable. She felt pathetic for placing such value in an object, for clinging to the one thing that could serve as a reminder of him, but she couldn't bear to part with the only tangible proof that her time with him had been real.

And besides, it _was_ a nice sweater.

"Before you go," Tsunade called out as an afterthought just before Sakura was about to leave, "I know you were debriefed about everything before, but I can't help but ask. That Akatsuki that got caught in Naruto's jutsu too – do you at least think he's dead?"

The question caught her off guard and she hastily placed her hand on the door to steady herself.

"I- I don't know," Sakura replied, trying to justify her response to herself – she wasn't _really_ telling her mentor a lie. After all, she thought dejectedly, he could be dead now for all she knew.

Tsunade sighed wearily. "Right. Sorry to keep pestering you about that – it's just that I'd feel so much better if we knew for certain whether or not we could cross out one more page in the bingo book. Anyway," she gave a small smile to her apprentice, "Go home and get some rest, you don't start work at the hospital again for a couple of days."

With some words of farewell and a final, fumbled bow to her teacher, Sakura fled from the Hokage's office. When she emerged from the building into the cool autumn air, welcome and refreshing, she tried to steady herself.

She felt like an absolute wreck – her emotions so tangled and confused that she could hardly sort out what she was feeling. Even as she walked through Konoha, on streets that held no association with him, she was bombarded by a myriad of memories. While resuming her life in Konoha had been surprisingly easy, so much so that she could almost believe Deidara's existence to be a creation of her imagination, her feelings and thoughts towards him were too strong to be ignored.

Trying to shake herself from the daze that hung over her, Sakura searched for a distraction. Konoha's streets were busy as usual, and she would have no trouble finding old friends to keep her company if she so desired. But she felt too depressed and wanted to be on her own rather than inflict her misery on others. At last, she hesitated in front of a store before venturing in.

It was all so terribly familiar: the racks of durable, functional clothing, the sets of almost identical black sandals, the kunai displayed behind the glass counter. It was the same ninja outfitting store she'd shopped at since she was old enough to enter the Academy. She was so used to it that she didn't need to look around – just walked over to the section that she knew contained she wanted.

Almost mechanically, she paid for the identical red outfits, the same that she'd worn since she'd become Tsunade's apprentice. The clerk, well acquainted with his customers, packaged most of the items but put the red shirts behind the counter, informing Sakura that modifications and the addition of her family crest would be complete in a few days and she could pick them up then. Sakura nodded, lulled into a sort of daze by the all-too-familiar proceedings. Everything was exactly the same as it had been for years.

As she turned to leave however, this stupor was broken as something caught her eye – a sliver of yellow peaked out from the surrounding monotony of drab clothing. Sakura hesitated. She'd already bought the clothes she needed, anything else was unnecessary.

It was only a moment before curiosity got the best of her. The yellow fabric turned out to belong to a skirt. It was plain, adorned with only a few patterns sewn lightly in thread the same colour as the material, and its short length and a slit on one side made it appear practical enough. A quick search through nearby clothes racks netted her a high-collared, sleeveless pink top. Sakura held the two items together and considered the combination – it was certainly a change from her usual medic outfit. Before she could stop herself, Sakura found herself wondering if at last she'd managed to compile an outfit on her own that Deidara would have approved of.

Disgusted, Sakura shoved the clothes back onto the rack. What did it matter if Deidara would have approved? He was out of her life and his opinion of her made no difference. Not that he'd ever see her in the clothes anyway. Just thinking about him made her anger flare, and she was more determined than ever to wear her same old red clothing – if only just to spite the memories of him.

But as she stalked away from the outfit she'd so hastily discarded, Sakura paused and reconsidered. Picking up the clothes once again, she examined them more closely. No, it didn't matter what Deidara would think – they were her clothes and she would choose them as she liked. But he had perhaps taught her a thing or two, and while she may be angry and heartbroken by his actions it wouldn't do to ignore what she'd learned from him. After all, it _was_ true that she looked good in other colours. With that, Sakura's resolve broke and she once again reached for her purse.

* * *

After a few weeks, Sakura found it more and more difficult to believe that she'd ever left Konoha.

Life in the hidden village had gone on much the same without her and continued to do so after her sudden return. She resumed her position at the hospital and was surprised to find that being able to use chakra for healing again was more of relief than she'd expected. Cuts and gashes disappeared in seconds, and she wondered how she'd ever dealt with broken bones when they'd required messy casts and weeks of healing.

When at last Sakura finished with the final patient before the end of her shift though, she felt more stress than relief. Work was the only thing that kept her mind from more difficult topics – thoughts, feelings, memories that she could no longer tell if they were real or some elaborate trick of her cruel imagination.

Replacing a stack of files into the cabinets at the reception desk, Sakura straightened the 'back in five minutes' note left by the receptionist and cast about for some other form of work to do. She didn't want to go home just yet; she couldn't bear to be alone with her thoughts.

As she tidied the desk and wondered if maybe she could put in overtime – despite a rather slow stream of patients that day – the waiting room doors flew open and a familiar voice shattered the silence of the empty room.

"You've been back for _how long_ and we haven't had a proper girls' night yet? That's just not right."

Ino put her hands on her hips and shot Sakura a questioning look before breaking into a grin. "Also: you work too much. Leave those files for someone else – you're done for the day! Let's go do something!"

Sakura gave a small smile and shook her head at her friend's energy. "I don't know if I'm up to one of your nights out, Ino…"

"We don't have to go out or anything, just come see my new flat!" Ino set her jaw in the particular way that told Sakura she really had no choice in the matter. "I moved in a few months ago, and since you missed my housewarming party you can't refuse now!"

Sakura sighed and straightened a few more papers on the desk, stalling for time. "I-"

Her reply was cut short as the doors to the waiting room swung open once again, this time revealing two jounin. Their faces were vaguely familiar, but from the hundreds of patients she'd seen over the years, Sakura couldn't remember their names. One of them supported the other, who moaned and stumbled against him. It didn't take more than a glance to reveal what the problem was, and as Sakura's initial concern faded she crossed her arms with a frown.

Catching sight of Sakura, the jounin on the left broke into a grin. "It's good to have you back!" His voice was slightly slurred, and he seemed to be having some trouble keeping a grip on his friend, who tended to lurch forward unexpectedly. "We need your help -- _someone_ had a bit too much to drink and he's going to be a mess tomorrow. Not to mention it'll be a pain getting him home like this..."

"You guys are starting early," Ino noted.

"Give us a break," replied the jounin. "We just got back from a mission, it's not like we don't deserve it!"

Sakura was silent as she stepped forward and placed her fingers on the inebriated man's temples. She closed her eyes, focusing her chakra, but stepped back after a moment.

"He'll be fine," she said with a dismissive wave of her hand. "He doesn't have alcohol poisoning, he just needs to sleep it off."

"Oh," said the jounin, his eyebrows knitting in confusion. "But can't you heal him like you've done before?"

"I could," admitted Sakura, "But I've had a long day and he kind of brought this on himself."

When the man said nothing, only stared in disbelief, Sakura retrieved from behind the desk one of the brightly coloured plastic buckets the hospital gave to nauseous patients before they were sent home. "Here," she said coldly, "He might need this on his way home."

The jounin stared at her, then at the bucket, then back at Sakura. "You've changed," he said, as though this were some terrifying revelation.

Sakura clenched her fists and fought back the urge to roll her eyes. You would have changed too, she wanted to shout, if you'd fallen in love halfway around the world and had the greatest adventure of your life. Not to mention, dealing with Deidara combined with months of working with Alvara had taught her not to be pushed around by troublesome people.

After a quick glance at Sakura's expression, Ino stepped forward and grabbed the plastic container from her friend. "Look, you're lucky you're leaving with just this and not a lecture, so just take your puke bucket and go," she said as she pushed in into the reluctant hands of the jounin and ushered him and his semi-conscious friend forcefully out the door.

As the doors swung closed, Ino frowned and turned to face her friend. "We're going back to my flat, and you're telling me _everything_."

At Ino's tone of finality, Sakura sighed and resigned herself to the inevitable.

* * *

Sakura half-listened and gave what she hoped passed for attentive noises as Ino poured their tea and recounted how she'd managed to land such a good deal on her flat.

It _was_ a nice little apartment, and Ino had decorated it in a way that would make anyone feel instantly at home, with bright colours and fresh flowers from her parents' shop. But neither that nor Ino's stream of lighthearted chatter could pull Sakura from her gloomy mood.

At last when Ino had finished her tale, she set down a plate of chocolates on the kitchen table and sank into the chair next to Sakura. "Eat these," she commanded, "Then tell me about him."

Sakura eyed the chocolates for a moment before Ino's words sank in. Startled, she glanced up at her friend. "_What?_"

"Well it's a boy, isn't it?" Ino raised her eyebrows. "It's kind of obvious, you know. I've been through enough heartbreak myself to know what it looks like."

Sakura looked down at the red checkered tablecloth, a little ashamed that displayed her feelings so openly. "It was nothing," she said dismissively, yet felt her chest tighten at the false and hollow words. "Just a fling."

Ino pushed the plate of chocolates closer to her friend. "Do you want to talk about it?"

Yes – yes, she wanted to blurt out all that had happened and complain that it wasn't fair and he was so awful for putting her through all this and that she felt like a fool – both for letting him have the upper hand and for still caring about him despite what he'd done. And then they could both rage about good-for-nothing guys and Ino would break out a bottle of wine and after a few excessively saccharine movies they'd conclude that they didn't need men anyway and everything would be all better.

But it hadn't been a normal relationship, and Sakura had a feeling that the usual remedies wouldn't work for her this time. Besides, she couldn't explain all that had gone on between them, not without giving away the information of who he was. And while Ino was her best friend, there was no way she'd take well to the notion that Sakura had been – seeing, dating, sleeping with? – _something_ with one of the top ranking missing-nin. So Sakura just shook her head and said nothing.

Not one to be discouraged so easily on matters pertaining to gossip, Ino pressed onwards. "Was he a dashing foreigner?" She said it almost teasingly as she clasped her hands against her chest and made a dramatic face.

Sakura gave a half-hearted smile. She considered this for a moment, then decided that the term could indeed be applied to Deidara. "Yes," she replied truthfully. "He was."

Ino leaned forward, even more curious and determined to ferret out the details. "What was his name?"

Sakura bit her lip and averted her eyes. The conversation was entering dangerous territory. If anyone found out how close she'd become to an enemy, a simple case of heartbreak would be the least of her worries.

Fortunately Ino misinterpreted her hesitation. "Never mind," she said, patting her friend's hand. "I understand. It must still be too painful to say."

As Sakura fell back into silence, Ino tried one last time. "Maybe he'll write to you," she said hopefully.

"Um," said Sakura as she tried not to laugh outright at the thought of Deidara writing her love letters. "He's not really the sort to do that."

She couldn't help but smile, her mood lifting for a moment, and Ino took this as the opening she needed. "Look," she said plainly, "You don't have to tell me everything. But talking about this will make you feel better, I promise."

She said it with such honesty that Sakura could no longer resist. After keeping her emotions bottled up inside for so long she wanted desperately to confide in someone. And so she began her tale hesitantly, careful to leave out most of the early events and any indication of Deidara's true identity. Sakura tried not to lie; instead she constructed her story around pieces of truth that could do no harm. She said she'd met him on her way home and that they'd travelled together, quarreled most of the time, and somehow managed to fall into the most bizarre relationship. She laughed a little as she described some of their banter, the memories coming easily and, for the first time, without pain.

Ino said nothing, only sipped at her tea and listened. Sakura could ask for nothing more, as sometimes the best and most comforting thing a friend can do is to simply listen. When she finished her story, confident that she hadn't given anything crucial away, she felt better, less weighed down by her secret.

"I guess," Sakura concluded, surprising herself as she at last managed to untangle the web of thoughts that had plagued her for so long. "I'm also angry at myself." She blinked a few times, realizing that her words were truthful. "I mean, I'm definitely going to hospitalize him if I ever see him again – no question about that. But I feel silly for having spent so long agonizing over the future of our relationship when what I should really have been doing was just _enjoying it_."

This revelation was so startling that Sakura could do nothing but turn it over and over in her mind. While she was still torn between wanting to kiss Deidara senseless or break his jaw, her feelings towards her own actions in Cìen suddenly became clear. And although she felt awful at the knowledge that she'd wasted even a moment of their time together bogged down in dreary thoughts, unraveling her feelings gave her a strange sensation of relief. She leaned back in her chair and smiled into her teacup.

Mulling over her friend's story, Ino chewed thoughtfully on one of the chocolates.

"So let me get this straight," she said at last, unable to keep the beginnings of a grin from her face. "You were so sure he was going to admit his undying love for you, and then he knocked you out and shipped you off to the Fire Country? While I'm surprised you haven't swum back there and murdered him, you have to admit that's kind of funny."

Sakura rolled her eyes. She knew Ino and her sense of humour well enough not to take offense to the comment. "Maybe if it happened in a movie or a romance novel, but it's not so funny when it happens in real life."

Ino nodded, still slightly amused as Sakura continued, "Anyway, you can't tell _anyone_ about this."

"Of course I won't," her best friend promised, refilling their tea cups with a benign smile that made Sakura suspicious.

"Ino, _please_," she pleaded in a tone of desperation.

"You know I won't tell anyone," she replied, maintaining her most angelic expression. "And as proof of my sincerity I've concocted a plan to make you help you get over this."

Sakura groaned. "Why do I have a bad feeling about this?"

Ino shushed her and continued, "You've been dwelling on this for far too long –"

"—it's only been a few weeks –"

"— _Far too long_, so clearly it's time for you to find a distraction. You just said yourself that you shouldn't have worried so much about things, so take your own advice and get back to living in the present."

Sakura could see where this was going, and inwardly lamented that her friend was so terribly misguided when it came to solving relationship issues.

"I met this one guy on a mission a while back," Ino said, oblivious to Sakura's mounting dismay. "He's just what you need: charming, handsome, and – due to his mission schedule – only in Konoha for conveniently short amounts of time."

"If he's so great, why don't you date him yourself?" Sakura grumbled, tired of what seemed to be another episode of Ino's classic bragging.

She wrinkled her nose. "Ew, _no_. He's got blond hair and blue eyes --" Sakura's heart leapt. "--We'd look like we were siblings or something." Ino tossed her hair to one side. "Besides, he's far too good looking. I don't date men who are even half as pretty as me – they've always got such awful egos, you know."

"But it's alright for me to date him?" Sakura snorted in disbelief.

"It's different," her friend insisted. "You're not looking for a relationship. Just a distraction. So why not make it a pretty one?"

"A distraction? I'm pretty sure it's called a _rebound_."

Ino shrugged. "Semantics."

As Ino continued to extol the virtues of her plan, Sakura had a sinking feeling that she wasn't going to escape from this one.

* * *

Sakura sat on the edge of her bed and lamented that she'd ever agreed to Ino's idea. The relief she'd felt after confiding in her friend had disappeared too soon, giving way yet again to an unshakeable sadness. She had no energy for anything, and despite her previous talk of enjoying the present, she couldn't apply this philosophy to her current situation.

Instead, she left her hair and makeup undone as she waited for her date to arrive and lost herself in the past. She tried to draw Deidara's image from her memories, but for all the wild gold hair, teasing glances, and mocking smiles she could conjure, it was but a pale imitation of the real thing. She glanced down at the object in her hands, running her fingers over the fabric that was now pilled and faded. She stared at the sweater until it seemed that nothing else around her existed, but still the wispy images of him were fleeting and incomplete.

She'd heard people say that everyone was entitled to one great romance in their lifetime, yet she had always believed this to be rubbish – something that only hopelessly romantic fools could believe. But as she closed her eyes and remembered that last farewell kiss, remembered it so completely that she could almost feel the pull of his fingers in her hair and the slight roughness of his lips, she was almost convinced she'd been wrong.

Without realizing her actions, Sakura held the sweater tightly against her and wondered at the incredible power of what was not there. It surprised her that the lack of his presence could create such a void. She had known him only for a matter of months, and yet somehow life without him was almost unbearable.

The sound of the doorbell startled her from her thoughts. With a shake of her head to clear her mind, Sakura threw the shirt onto the floor in disgust. Surely she hadn't been so pathetic before, she thought morosely, and yet still couldn't pull herself from her heavy mood.

Dragging herself reluctantly to the front door, Sakura unbolted the lock with a sigh. Ordinarily she would have been in a panic over a first date, but for some reason she couldn't bring herself to care that her hair wasn't brushed and she hadn't showered since the night before. Pasting on a fake smile and hoping that her eyes weren't too bloodshot after all her sleepless nights, Sakura opened the door.

The ninja was blond, just as Ino had promised, but not like _him_. Instead, he had chin-length platinum hair, each strand artfully arranged with far too many styling products. Sakura tried not to look too closely lest she be thought of as rude, but she suspected the colour was artificial. His eyes were blue, but the shade was too light and without that maddening spark of malice and mockery. He grinned at her in a way that Sakura could only describe as smarmy and somewhat pompous.

As the ninja introduced himself and lavished her with complements, Sakura could only nod halfheartedly. If Deidara had been her date instead, he would have told her frankly that she looked like a depressed, love-sick teenager and that if she wanted to be seen in public with him she should stop being so pathetic.

He really had been such a jerk.

But as Sakura tried to stay focused on the Konoha man's unending stream of frivolous complements, she concluded that at least Deidara had been interesting.

By the time Sakura had slipped on her shoes, she had already concluded that her date for the evening was a complete and total bore. As he began to boast about himself and his string of successful A-rank missions, she tried to remember what his name was but could only think of several descriptive words, none of which were polite. Tuning the man out, Sakura followed him down to the street and wondered how soon she could slip away.

Life must really consider itself to be the height of wit, she decided, if an S-rank criminal could steal her heart so completely while the knowledge that she had to spend even a handful of hours with an accomplished Konoha ninja filled her with the most profound boredom and distaste.

* * *

"Your plan didn't work."

Ino blinked in disbelief as she held open the door to her flat, faced with a miserable best friend. "That's impossible!" she declared loudly, but as Sakura continued to look sullen she sighed, resigned, and ushered her friend inside. "But I guess you'd better come in and tell me about it."

Sakura rushed past her friend into the apartment. Flopping onto the nearest couch, Sakura slouched into the cushions. "That was probably one of the worst dates I've ever been on," she moaned, eager to have a sympathetic ear. "All he did was talk about himself the entire evening."

"Really?" Ino feigned surprise as she moved to sit beside her friend. "Just about himself? You mean he didn't also grace you with his ingenious pick-up lines and extravagant amounts of flattery?"

Sakura grimaced as she tried not to remember the horrible date. "Well, yes, that too."

Ino gave her a knowing grin before she asked, "But didn't he at least take your mind off the other guy for a moment?"

"No!" she blurted out in frustration. "He only made me miss him more! _He_ wouldn't have plied me with false flattery, wouldn't have spent the whole evening bragging about himself – or maybe he would, but it would be _different_. I'd make fun of him for it and he'd insult me over something petty and I'd have to find a good come-back, and then of course one thing would lead to another and--"

"You are _beyond_ hopeless," Ino lamented as her best friend groaned and put her head in her hands.

"Ino," she said, massaging her temples futilely, "I have no idea what to do anymore, I'm just too confused. I _know_ that life is going to go on and won't wait around for me to stop being pathetic, but I can't help but miss him! Sometimes I feel fine and I know everything's going to be okay, but then some little, ordinary thing reminds me of him and it all comes rushing back – all the anger and hope and sadness and memories. It's like I have moments of lucidity and then go crazy again, and I can't –"

"Sakura," Ino said suddenly. Her voice was soft, yet something in her tone succeeded in cutting off her friend's rambling. "It's okay. It's okay not to know how you feel."

Sakura took a deep breath, trying to draw up whatever strands of calm she had left. Yet again, she was both thankful and stunned by Ino's ability to defuse her heartbroken ramblings. She glanced away from her friend, embarrassed at what she was about to admit.

"You know," she began sheepishly, "I might complain about all this – and I'm _fully aware_ that I'm wallowing in my own pity party – but I'm almost afraid not to. It feels like he's slowly slipping away. I know he's out of my life, but it's as though his memory won't be far behind in fading either. And this probably sounds ridiculous, but I feel like if I wail and rage about him he won't go away so fast." She laughed a little, pushing down a wave of sadness.

"He _was_ good at that, you know? Driving me mad." Frustrated with herself, Sakura rubbed at her eyes wearily. "Oh gods, I am going insane, aren't I? I can't believe I'm letting someone get to me so bad – someone who was a _huge jerk_ and thought he knew what was best for me. He's the sort of guy I should _despise!_" Pulling a mournful face, Sakura concluded, "I think the medics got it all wrong – living abroad _did_ turn me crazy."

Ino gave her despairing friend a long look, then pretended to examine her nails. "I know I sound like the most enormously cold-hearted bitch for saying this, but…" She looked up at last, meeting her friend's gaze. "No matter what you had going on with him, it's in the past. So unless you plan on running back across the ocean and either dragging him back here or leaving Konoha behind for good, you need to deal with what's happened. Don't get me wrong, I'll always be here to hear you out, but _you're eighteen_ -- you can't let a relationship like this consume your life."

Stunned into silence, Sakura considered her friend's words.

With a glance at Sakura's shocked expression, Ino grimaced. "Sorry to be so blunt, " she continued, waving her hands in an attempt to explain herself through futile gestures. "But I- I just thought you had to hear that."

Sakura nodded slowly, feeling that odd sense of clairvoyance and calm from their previous discussion settle over her again.

"I did."

She sighed, struggling to be at peace with the knowledge that her and Deidara could never be together in the traditional sense. "Those months with him were almost like being in love. Not, of course, that I know what being in love is like," Sakura added quickly. "It's just that, if it were possible for us to be together, I – I would have like that."

It was a strange feeling, she concluded. It wasn't entirely defeat, but more of calm understanding. While she was still a little angry that he had made the final decision for her – and so suddenly! -- she knew that it couldn't have been any other way. She couldn't have brought him to Konoha, and when she was being rational she knew she could never have lived with herself if she'd abandoned her friends, her duties, her _life_ in the hidden village.

"You know," Ino said slowly, glancing at Sakura from the corner of her eye, "You still haven't told me his name. Or why you didn't just kidnap him and drag him back to Konoha. I'm sure Tsunade wouldn't have minded terribly about having another civilian around, especially if it's one that makes her favourite apprentice happy."

Fully aware of Ino's obvious suspicion, Sakura spluttered helplessly and couldn't find anything more articulate than a graceful: "Err…"

After a painfully long moment, Ino relented and broke into a triumphant grin. "You know you can't hide it from me forever – whatever the big secret is. I'll dig it out of you eventually."

Regaining her voice, Sakura raised her chin defiantly. "I'll never tell!"

"Oh!" cried Ino as she shuffled closer to her friend on the couch. "Playing hard to get, are you? I don't know if I'll be able to resist."

A playful grin across her face, Ino reached over to tickle her friend. Sakura batted her hands away but Ino only redoubled her efforts. Tackling her best friend, Ino didn't relent until she was certain that Sakura was well and truly laughing.

"Look," Ino said, her voice soft and reassuring as Sakura's giggles subsided, "Things will get better. I promise."

Sakura smiled up at Ino, who still had her pinned to the couch. Freeing her arms, Sakura dragged Ino into a crushing hug. "Thank you," she whispered as she buried her face in her friend's hair.

Ino returned the hug as best she could, relaxing into her friend's embrace as much as their tangled position would allow. "Trust me, you'll see."

Sakura could only hold her friend tighter and hope fervently that Ino was right.

As it turned out, she was.

* * *

Sakura didn't bother to kick off her shoes as she collapsed onto her bed. She squeezed her eyes shut and buried her face into her pillow, willing her headache to go away. The day had been far too stressful, however, for simple willpower to work. Resigning herself to the fact that greater powers would need to be involved, Sakura eased herself up to sit on the edge of her bed and searched for the bottle of aspirin in her nightstand. She reached for the glass of water on the nightstand, warm and leftover from the night before, and tried not to think about her nightmare of a day. What was supposed to have been a quiet day of hospital policy discussion had quickly spiraled into chaos as a genin team was rushed into the hospital after they had somehow succeeded in all but massacring themselves with a jutsu they'd concocted without the knowledge of their teacher.

It was absolutely absurd, Sakura thought as she downed the painkillers, that no matter how thoroughly boring your daily life was, you never really knew what would happen before the day was out.

Sakura would later reflect that this was very true indeed, because that was the first day in a long time that she hadn't thought of him one bit.

In need of some fresh air before the painkillers kicked in, Sakura opened her bedroom window and drew in a deep breath. It brought a small amount of comfort that even after her hectic day the evening glow still illuminated the streets of Konoha in its same, familiar way.

Sakura drew away from the window, leaving it open to let in the breeze. Her headache had just begun to ebb when a strange touch of chakra – so familiar, but that was _impossible_ – made her turn back.

The curtains drifted in and out of the window gently with the light wind, and nothing outside was amiss.

Convinced that she had obviously worked too hard that day, Sakura shook her head to clear her thoughts.

And that's when a little clay sparrow dropped through the open window and landed on her bed.

It exploded.

Sakura blinked. She blinked again, but this didn't change the fact that her quilt sported a newly charred hole, encircled by small flames that slowly fizzled themselves out. It wasn't until a thin curl of smoke wafted towards her, the smell startling her senses back into reality, that she fully grasped the situation.

Dashing to the window, Sakura held onto the sill in a white-knuckled grip to steady herself. Before she could jump out the window and hunt him down, a faint prickle of chakra alerted her that was no longer alone in the room.

"I can't stay for long," came a voice from behind her. "So if you plan on strangling me or something you should probably do it now, yeah."

Sakura stood frozen, unable to turn and face him. Say something, you fool, she wanted to shout at herself, it may be your only chance.

But that was just it – it might be her only chance, her only chance for their two unlikely worlds to cross. Her only chance to have him there and to absorb every moment. So she stood in silence and swept away all thoughts of what their future would hold, knowing only that he was there _now_ and that was all that mattered.

His footsteps were silent, yet Sakura could feel that he moved towards her. He brushed his fingers over her shoulder almost hesitantly, as though worried that she really would strangle him. But as Sakura leaned into his touch he grew bolder, wrapping his arms around her until she arched back ever so slightly, her head resting against his shoulder and her hands reaching up to wrap themselves in his hair.

"You actually thought I'd just leave it at that, yeah?" he said, his voice soft. "I told you we'd see each other again. Idiot."

"You're such a jerk," Sakura said with a smile, leaning back into his familiar embrace. He said nothing, only held her tighter. Sakura could feel him smile as he pressed a kiss into her hair, and they both knew that even the most powerful terms of endearment were humbled by the emotions behind their simple words in that moment together.

* * *

_End._

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**A/N:** First of all, a big thank you to all reviewers! I couldn't reply to as many of you as I would have liked, but I read every single review and PM and am convinced that I have somehow had the luck and privilege to find some of the kindest members of this fandom. Also a gigantic thank you to Cynchick for giving this final chapter a once over and convincing me to stop being so crazy and part with it at last.

So there you have it, my first ever completed multi-chapter and the product of two years, much influenced (and delayed!) by my own travels and studies. A sequel is _not_ planned, because I feel that this fic has said all that I wanted it to. That said, please check out _Heat and Sun_, another DeiSaku fic just in its beginning stages. (By now we all know it will take me forever to complete.) And of course, if you have not yet read the poem from which this fic's title was so unapologetically borrowed, I would encourage you to do so!

So once again, thank you to everyone – I hope you had as much fun reading _Somewhere_ as I had writing it!


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